WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today issued the following statement on a report by the Census Bureau and HUD that said new home sales in October rose by 0.8 percent from September. The report said 851,000 new homes were sold on a seasonally adjusted annual basis in October.

"Today's report is another strong indicator that 1998 will be the best year in American history for new home sales and homeownership," Cuomo said. "If the current sales pace continues, it looks like new home sales will shatter the current record of 819,000 set in 1977 and rise to a new high of about 870,000 this year. On top of this, 1998 is virtually certain to break the homeownership rate record of 65.7 percent set last year. This is good news for American families, good news for the housing industry and good news for our economy. It shows that the Clinton Administration's economic policies are continuing to improve the lives of the American people."