Something to be thankful for: Sales of new homes rose more than expected last month to the highest level in more than a year as the housing market shows stability after its historic collapse. The Commerce Department says sales rose 6.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 430,000 from an upwardly revised 405,000 in September. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected a pace of 410,000. Home shoppers in October were acting before lawmakers decided to extend a tax credit for first-time buyers and expand it to existing homeowners. Nevertheless, sales were up 5.1% from a year ago, the first yearly increase since November 2005. The median sales price of $212,200 was off 0.5% from $213,200 a year earlier, but up 0.7% from September’s level of $210,700.
Be careful: The Transportation Department says Toyota will replace gas pedals on 3.8 million vehicles in the United States to address problems with sudden acceleration or the pedal becoming stuck in the floor mat. As a temporary step, Toyota will have dealers shorten the length of gas pedals beginning in January. Transportation officials told The Associated Press the Japanese automaker will develop replacement pedals for the vehicles, and new pedals will be available beginning in April. The automaker announced the massive recall in September. The recall includes vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, the top-selling passenger car in America, and the Toyota Prius, the best-selling gas-electric hybrid.
