New-Home Sales Amplify Optimism About Housing

Sales of newly built homes continued to pick up momentum, another sign that the long-beleaguered housing market is in recovery mode. New-home sales for April rose 3.3% from March and were up 9.9% from a year earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. While new homes account for about 10% of the housing stock sold each year, sales of previously owned homes have also shown strong gains recently, suggesting the industry's improvements are widespread. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that sales of previously owned homes, which make up the bulk of the housing market, rose 3.4% in April from the previous month. The Commerce Department figures reflect sales of only single-family homes, while the Realtor data include sales within multifamily dwellings, such as condominiums. Prices are also improving. The median price for a new home in April was $235,700, up slightly from March and nearly 5% higher compared with a year earlier, according to the report.

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