The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Wednesday, October 27 that new home sales rose 3.5% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.21 million units, the third highest in U.S. history.

Sales rose six percent in the Northeast, 12.3 percent in the Midwest, and 2.7 percent in the South. Only in the West did sales decline, by 0.8 percent.