The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that the sales of new single-family homes fell 0.3 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000 units in October.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 970,000 last month.

September’s sales pace was revised up to 1,002,000 units from the originally reported 959,000 units.

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, declined 2.0 percent m-o-m in October and sales in the West decreased 1.7 percent m-o-m. Meanwhile, sales in the Midwest surged 11.2 percent m-o-m and sales in the Northeast increased 5.1 percent m-o-m.