Are you house hunting, or do you just like to see how others live? Here are a few of the homes for sale in New Rochelle.

Maybe you’ll discover your dream home.

Here are a few homes on the market in the Queen City. 76 Chauncey Ave. Listing price: $385,000. 4 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths. 1,700 square feet. Listing office: coldwellbankermoves.com. Information from trulia.com

70 Cortlandt Ave. Listing price: $850,000. 4 bedrooms, 4 full baths & 2-1/2 baths. 3,200 square feet. Listing office: BH&G Rand Realty.

76 Chauncey Ave. Listing price: $385,000. 4 bedrooms, 3-1/2 baths. 1,700 square feet. Listing office: coldwellbankermoves.com

New home sales rose a bit in October, but the level of demand is historically very weak because of high-unemployment in the U.S. and competition from cheaper existing homes.

Sales increased by 1.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual-rate of 307,000 from a downwardly revised speed of 303,000 in September, the Commerce Department said.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had estimate sales would slip by 0.3% to an annual-rate of 312,000.

The average price in October for a new home was $212,300, higher than the level of $204,200 a year earlier and as yet down from the month earlier.

Uncertainty in the direction of home prices can give would-be buyers second thoughts, with some of them waiting for a better deal. Owners who want to sell, on the other hand, tend to take their property off the market until prices steady a trend that adds to inventory in the future and depresses-prices further.

New homes are, generally, more expensive than previously owned property. People have been particularly attracted to foreclosed homes because of the low-price tags.

New-home sales amount to about a quarter of their peak before the bubble began deflating around five years ago. Sales are way below healthy levels, considered to be an annual rate of around 750,000.

Year over year, new-home-sales were 8.9% above the October 2010 level.

Because many people have much of their net worth tied up in their homes, the bursting of the price bubble made consumers feel less wealthy and discouraged spending. The economy slouches from late 2007 to mid 2009. It has been trying to retrieve strongly but unemployment stays high.

For the housing sector to recover, the economy needs to create more jobs and housing prices must steady. But economists think prices will keep falling because the foreclosure-pipeline is long. Falling prices pull more homes “underwater,” which mean the owners owe more on their mortgages than the property is worth. That leads to more foreclosures and lower prices.

With builders pessimistic, the no of new-homes listed for sale at the end of October was 162,000, which is historically low. That supply would take 6.3 months to reduce at the current sales speed and is around a healthy-level. The supply in September was 6.4 months.

The Commerce statement said October new home sales were mixed. New home Sales rose 14.9% in the West and 22.2% in the Midwest. Sales were flat in the Northeast and fell 9.5% in the South.

Many rich Chinese businesspeople are turning to New York City for luxury real estate for personal use with possible investment potential always on their mind.

Over the past few years the sum of Chinese buyers has increased significantly in New York and high net worth business people are searching high and low within the $500,000 to $10 million and up range.

Several of the buyers are using the apartments for individual use, either as pieds-a-terre or as housing for their children who are studying in the city. Even so the majority of the high end sales reduce at the lower end of the luxury range. Chinese are often concerned in the investing possible for apartments, even if they plan to use it for personal use to begin with.

Amazingly, real estate costs in New York are mentioned as the draw for the Chinese buyers. Compared to other cities where they may have otherwise committed, such as London, Hong Kong or Monaco, New York luxury properties are about $1,500 per square foot.

In London, for comparison, luxury condos mean around $3,600 per sq ft; real estate in Hong Kong costs $2,000 per square foot and $4,300 per square foot in Monaco. The current rate of exchange also works in favor of Chinese buyers and newly relaxed banking rules in mainland China make it easier for investors to move money out of the country.

High-end realtors detect that the new Chinese buyers incline to prefer the more modern and sleek look to their buildings, like the Time Warner Center. These buildings are given to include the amenities that the buyers are looking such as swimming pools, fitness centers, concierge services, parking, pet spas and music rooms.

They also enjoy high design and high-end finishes because it inclines to give an image of long-term worth. Cultural predilections also play a part when Chinese buyers are investing in New York. Many will not live on the fourth floor (the number four linked with dead because in some dialects the word rhymes with death) and choose the eighth floor which is related with luck and prosperity. There is also a very big Chinese-speaking community in Manhattan that may shake them toward selecting New York over another large city.