New-home sales up 11% in June

Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

New-home sales in the United States increased dramatically in June from May, offering some evidence that the housing market is recovering.

Sales of single-family homes increased 11 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 384,000, compared to a revised May rate of 346,000, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The jump marks the third consecutive increase in as many months and eclipses predictions by economists recently surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, who expected June sales to climb 2.3 percent to 350,000.

The last time sales rose so dramatically was in December 2000.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that home resales posted a monthly increase of 3.6 percent in June.