Sales of new US homes rose 18.6% in May and reached an annual rate of 504,000 units, the largest monthly increase in twenty-two, said Tuesday the Department of Commerce.
In the previous month, the sales pace pointed to some 425,000 units annually and most experts had estimated sales level between 415,000 and 462,000 units in May.
New homes represent about 7% of the residential housing market and counted when the contract is signed, unlike existing homes, which are counted when the contract generally a month later runs.
The average price of new homes rose 6.9% from May 2013 and last month reached $ 282,000, according to the Government.
The housing appreciation occurred in the four regions of the country but was most notable in the Northeast, where prices of new homes in May were 54.4% higher than in May 2013.
The supply of new homes, the May sales pace, down 5.3% from April and stood at 4.5 months, the lowest since June 2013.
The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales of existing homes rose 4.9% in May and reached an annual rate of 4.89 million units.
The average price of the house used in May was $ 213,400, representing an increase of 5.1% on the price of a year earlier.
Last month, the inventory of existing homes offered for sale was 2.28 million units, the current sales pace it would take 5.6 months to exhaust.
Despite the increased activity in May, the rate was 5% below the activity of a year earlier.