US new home sales jump in March

(Sharecast News) - New home sales in the United States bounced back strongly in March after a sharp downwards revision to numbers the month before. New privately-owned home sales jumped by 8.8% to a seasonally-adjusted annualised rate of 693,000 last month, according to the US Census Bureau.

This was the highest level in six months and well ahead of the 668,000 expected by analysts. February's sales were revised to 637,000, down from the initial estimate of 662,000.

The data showed that 27.8% growth in the Northeast was combined with single-digit growth in the Midwest (+5.3%), South (+7.7%) and West (+8.6%)

The median sale price for new houses sold in March was $430,700 across the country, while the average price was $524,800.

By the end of the month, there were 477,000 new home for sale, representing 8.3 months of supply at the current sales rate, down from 8.8 months in February.