据美国政府周一发布的报告显示，美国9月份预售屋销量继8月份下滑至17年以来的最低水平后意外大幅上升。
美国商务部(Commerce Department)表示，美国9月份单户型住宅销量增加2.7%，经季节因素调整后，折合成年率为464,000套。
经济学家此前预计，美国9月份预售屋销量折合成年率为455,000套。
美国9月份预售屋销量较上年同期减少33.1%。抵押贷款收紧。待售房屋库存高企打击了住房市场及其他经济领域，也推动房价走低。
广告美国8月份预售屋销量下降12.6%，折合成年率为45.2万套，此前政府公布的初步数据是下降11.5%至46万套，创17年新低。美国7月份预售屋销量增长3.6%至51.7万套，而商务部之前公布的初步数据是增长4.0%至52万套。
9月预售屋价格中值下降9.1%，至218,400美元，上年同期为240,300美元。预售屋平均售价下降5.7%，至275,500美元，上年同期为292,200美元。8月份预售屋价格中值为220,400美元，平均售价为264,100美元。
截至9月底，预售屋存量下降7.3%，至39.4万套，8月份为42.5万套。
从地区来看，9月份美国西部地区预售屋销量增长22.7%，东北部地区下降21.4%，中西部地区下降5.8%，南部地区增长0.7%。
新闻链接：http://chinese.wsj.com/gb/20081027/BUS008902.asp?source=whatnews1
New home sales post unexpected increase as prices fall to lowest level in 4 years
Sales of new homes unexpectedly rose last month, as many homebuyers seized on builder discounts and rushed to take advantage of expiring down payment assistance programs and other incentives.
Economists had expected sales of new, single-family homes to drop from August levels, but instead they rose 2.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 homes, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Many homebuilders had ramped up incentives in August and September to capitalize on the end of seller-funded down payment assistance programs on Oct. 1. Builders also likely benefited from another factor motivating homebuilders: an increase from 3 percent to 3.5 percent in the down payment required to qualify for a Federal Housing Administration-insured loan, which also took effect Oct. 1.
Builders' discounts helped push down the median price of a new home to $218,400, or 9.1 percent below what it was a year ago. That means prices have rolled back to what they were four years ago.
Despite the surprising increase in September, sales were still 33 percent below a year ago and off almost 68 percent from the peak in July 2005.
The positive upward turn in sales was blunted somewhat by the government's decision to revise August sales to a decline of 12.6 percent -- sharply lower than the initial estimate.
The housing market is the worst it has been in decades, and tight credit markets, souring consumer confidence, and rising unemployment haven't helped.
"We still have a very difficult road ahead that will require additional government action to speed the recovery of housing and the national economy," Sandy Dunn, chairman of The National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement.
The trade group renewed its call for Congress to enact a new housing stimulus package to help spur homebuyers.
Last Friday, the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes rose 5.5 percent in September, the largest monthly gain in more than five years.
Analysts, however, noted that the September gains came before the latest upheavals in financial markets which have raised new worries about the overall state of the economy.
Many analysts believe the country has already entered a recession. They are forecasting significant increases in job losses, which could lead to more foreclosures and choke off demand.
New home sales fell by about 21 percent in the Northeast and were down 5.8 percent in the Midwest. They rose almost 1 percent in the South and jumped by a sharp 23 percent in the West -- a region of the country which has seen some of the biggest declines in prices, a development which has spurred sales.
Robert Stevenson, an analyst with Fox-Pitt Kelton, said it's hard to say whether there's a trend brewing from one month's sales data.
He noted that even though new home sales in the West soared last month, that increase didn't make up for the 30 percent drop in August.
"At the end of the day, you're still below where you started, Stevenson said.
The overall rise in home sales last month left a total of 394,000 unsold new homes on the market at the end of September, down a record 25 percent from a year ago.
That's good news for builders, who have cut back production to bring inventories in line with sales. But even with the latest drop in unsold homes, the stock represents a 10.4-month supply at the September sales pace, still a historically high level.
新闻链接：http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081027/economy.html