Sales of new single-family homes in America dropped by 5.5 percent between August and September, according to new statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau. Sales of houses last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 553,000, down 13.2 percent when compared to the rate in September 2017. The largest drop took place in the Northeast (sales declined by 40.6 percent between August and September), followed by the West (which saw a 12 percent drop) and the South (where sales dropped by 1.5 percent). Sales increased in the Midwest by 6.9 percent.