By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new homes climbed 6.6% in September, figures released by the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday show, representing the second straight month of gains but a figure that's still well below the pace when a tax credit existed. Sales of new single-family homes rose 6.6% to a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 307,000, which is stronger than the 300,000 that economists expected in a MarketWatch-compiled poll. There's also still plenty of supply, with the government estimating supply of 8 months of unsold homes. The stock of unsold houses fell 1% from August and dropped 19% from Sept. 2009. The median sales price rose 1.5% from August and 3.3% from Sept. 2009 to $223,800.
