WASHINGTON (AP) - New U.S. home sales surged 9.6 percent in July, rising for the fourth straight month and beating expectations as the housing market marches steadily back from its historic downturn.
The Commerce Department says sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 from an upwardly revised June rate of 395,000.
It was the strongest sales pace since September and exceeded the forecasts of economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who expected a pace of 390,000 units. The last time sales rose so dramatically was in February 2005.
The median sales price of $210,100, however, was still down 11.5 percent from $237,300 a year earlier.