U.S. new home sales drop

WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. single-family home sales fell in September, as higher mortgage rates impacted the nation's housing market.

Sales of new homes dropped a hefty 10.9 percent in September, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Mortgage rates climbed to 7.16 percent last week - the steepest level since 2001, which are decreasing people's ability to purchase homes.

Some parts of the nation were hit particularly hard, with sales in the South falling 20.2 percent.

Bucking the trend was the Midwest, which saw rising home sales to the tune of 4.3 percent. At the same time, home sales skyrocketed 56 percent in the Northeast.

On a year-over-year basis, nationwide sales dropped 17.6 percent in September.

Sales hit a high point in January 2021, with 993,000 units sold - the highest number in 16 years.

The housing market is impacted by the U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive raising of interest rates. The Fed is taking such action in a bid to tamp down record inflation -- the highest in four decades.