U.S. Sept new homes sales up

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of newly constructed U.S. single-family homes rose in September and inventories shrank as builders slashed prices to their lowest level in four years to move property as a financial crisis deepens.

The annual sales pace of 464,000 homes was up 2.7 percent from the revised August figure of 452,000, originally reported as 460,000 homes, Commerce Department data showed on Monday. Economists polled by Reuters expected the new homes sales pace to dip to 450,000 from that original figure.

The median sales price of $218,400 (141,583 pounds) was the lowest since the $211,600 level reached in September 2004, when the housing market was on the upswing. The housing inventory of 394,000 was the lowest since the 383,000 homes for sale in June 2004.

The 7.3 percent decline in inventory from August was the sharpest on record. At the current sales pace, it would take 10.4 months to clear the overstock of homes compared to the 11.4 months reported in August.

(Reporting by Patrick Rucker; Editing by Andrea Ricci)