New Home Sales Were Broadly Higher

     When I first saw that new home sales increased, I naturally thought that a post-hurricane bump occurred.  But the increase was far broader:

The South region -- which includes Texas and Florida -- did increase; it rose 1.3%.  But notice the incredibly large increases in the NE -- which rose 30.2% -- and the Midwest -- which was up 17.9%.

The top chart shows the NE region, which has increased 2 consecutive months and currently stands at a 5-year high.  The Midwest number is still within recently reported numbers. 

     While homes are expensive, mortgage rates are still fairly low:

This was a very encouraging report.