WASHINGTON — Americans bought fewer homes in October after snapping them up the month before, while home prices reached record levels, the latest sign of a moderating but vibrant housing market.

        The Commerce Department reported Monday that sales of new single-family homes dipped by a smaller-than-expected 2.6 percent in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 928,000.

        Even with the decline, home sales remained at a solid level, helping to explain why home prices hit an all-time monthly high, analysts said.

        The median sales price, the midpoint where half the homes sold for more and half for less, increased 2.9 percent to a record $174,900 in October. That was up 9.3 percent from the same month a year earlier.

        The average price of a new home sold in October rose to a record $218,400, up 6.9 percent from September's average and 9 percent higher than the average price in October 1999.

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