There may be record numbers of foreclosures, but not all the news is bad in the residential market. New home sales in October handily beat the amount sold in that month in the two previous years, according to the North State Building Industry Association. The tally was 547 homes sold last month, compared to 471 last October, and even fewer in 2005. The heavy action was in Placer County, accounting for a third of the total sold. More than 90 percent of the new homes sold last month were in the 400 to 600,000 range.