Slightly more new homes were bought in the United States in October but their prices fell.
The Commerce Department says new-home sales increased 1.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 307,000.
However, the BBC reports the figure is less than half the 700,000 annual rate that experts believe is needed to sustain a recovery.
The average price of a new home fell 0.5% to $212,300 (£136,000).
The BBC reports the number of new homes for sale in the US is at a record low of 162,000, due to a lack of credit available to developers.
Sales of previously owned homes also fell to an annual rate of 4.97 million last month - well below the six million needed for a buoyant property market.
