New home sales jumped 5.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted average annualized rate of 389,000, the highest rate since April 2010, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Wednesday. The month-to-month sales improvement was the strongest since February, when sales improved 27,000, or 8.0 percent. While sales numbers improved, both the median and average sales price of a new home dropped month-to-month. Sales were still up 27.1 percent from September 2011, the strongest year-over-year gain since February.

The housing sector hit a speed bump in September as existing home sales dipped, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales fell 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million, the first decline in three months. The median price of an existing home was down 0.5 percent from August to $183,900, but the median price was up 11.3 percent from September 2011, the strongest year-year dollar increase since January 2006.

First time claims for unemployment insurance shot up 46,000 to 388,000—the highest level since July — for the week ended October 13, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to bounce back up to 365,000 after seasonal factors drove the number of claims down to the lowest level in 54 months.

Housing starts and permits jumped in September to their highest levels since July 2008, Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday. Housing starts jumped 15.0 percent from August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872,000, while permits improved 11.6 percent to 894,000.

After jumping 11 points in three months, builder confidence inched up one point in October to 41, remaining at its highest level since June 2006, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Tuesday, matching economist expectations. The October boost was due entirely to a surge in homebuyer traffic in October, as other elements of the index were flat from September.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 339,000 — the lowest level since February 2008 — for the week ended October 6, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The drop was far steeper than market expectations of 370,000 initial claims.

The nation's economy generally expanded modestly from mid-August until the end of September, the Federal Reserve said in its periodic Beige Book report issued Wednesday. The report, the last Beige Book to be issued prior to Election Day, painted a mixed regional picture, with a leveling off of economic activity in New York and a slowing in the pace of growth in Kansas City. Residential real estate proved to be a bright spot amid an otherwise pedestrian report.

Debating continued two days after Barack Obama and Mitt Romney met in Denver, not between the candidates but over the monthly Employment Situation report showing the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent, the first sub-8.0 percent unemployment rate since January 2009.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September–the lowest level since January 2009—as the economy added a below-average 114,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)reported Friday. The 0.3 percentage point improvement in the unemployment rate is the largest since January 2011, when the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent to 9.1 percent.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance edged up by 4,000 to 367,000 for the week ended September 29, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week's report was revised upward to 363,000 first-time claims from the originally reported 359,000.