Home sales in the US have registered a minor increase in October. (Associated Press)
Sales of new US homes edged up modestly in October, led by a big jump in activity in the Midwest.
The Commerce Department says new home sales advanced 0.7 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000. That followed a smaller 0.4 per cent gain in September and put sales at the highest point since May.
The strength last month came from a big 15.8 per cent increase in sales in the Midwest and a smaller 7.1 per cent rise in the Northeast. Those increases offset a 1.9 per cent fall in sales in the South, which accounts for half of the new-home market, and a 2.7 per cent drop in the West.
Housing has struggled to recover since the recession ended in June 2009.