September existing home sales fall 1.9%

``Home sales cooled in September because of higher interest rates, and the recent government shutdown may put a damper on activity for this month, too. Existing home sales dropped 1.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.29 million from 5.39 million in August but were still up 10.7% from last year, the National Association of Realtors said Monday.''