Question

Last year, 56 new houses were build, so far this year, 5/8 of them have been sold. How many new houses have been sold this year

Answer 1

That'd be 5/8 ths of 56 houses, or 35 houses, sold

Answer 2

You need to find what 5/8 of 56 is so 

5/8 = .625

56 x .625=35

so 35 of those houses were sold this year