Housing's Pain Not Easing

Updated from 10:40 a.m. EST

The latest new-home sales data show that the U.S. housing market remains in a funk and has probably not yet bottomed.

Sales of new homes climbed 1.7% sequentially in October, but that rise came from sharply downwardly revised levels the previous month. The report also showed that inventories remain at high levels; this will put pressure on home prices, as builders resort to discounts to clear homes.

New-home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 728,000 in October, the Census Bureau said Thursday. While that's up from a rate of 716,000 homes the prior month, it marks a 23.5% plunge from the rate a year ago. ...