Sales slid 1% compared to August, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

Multifamily starts, meanwhile, declined, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said.    

October’s increase comes as inflation slows and mortgage rates decline. 

At the same time, the median-sales price declined from August, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report. 

The latest reading of the National Association of REALTORS® Pending Home Sales Index shows a return to month-over-month growth after a decline in July.    

The 716,000 per-year rate of new-home sales topped the consensus estimate of 700,000. 

The 2.5% decline followed a 1.3% increase in July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. 

Specifically, prices rose 4.3% annually after growing by 4.7% in June. 

July’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of 739,000 represented a 10.6% jump from June’s upwardly revised rate of 668,000. 

The pace of home sales increased 1.3% from June after months of decreases, the National Association of REALTORS® said.      

The National Association of REALTORS® said its Pending Home Sales Index rose 4.8% month over month. 

The record-breaking sales price comes as the pace of transactions slid from April, the National Association of REALTORS® said. 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index has hit a new record for six of the last 12 months, as demand remains strong in the face of tight inventory.

At the same time, the median price of a new home sold in April declined as well. 

New-home construction jumped 5.7% month over month after a soft March, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. 

Sales rose 9.5% from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.38 million.