(Bloomberg) — Purchases of new homes in the U.S. surged in April to the highest level since the start of 2008, pointing to a robust spring selling season for builders.
Sales jumped 16.6% to a 619,000 annualized pace, and purchases in the first three months of the year were revised higher, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. The rate exceeded the most optimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The median sales price climbed to a record, reflecting a pickup in signed contracts for more expensive properties.
|Economic growth
The rebound in purchases signals housing was returning to more stable footing, helped by healthy employment gains and cheap borrowing costs. The number of homes sold and not yet under construction climbed to the highest level since May 2007, indicating homebuilding will help add to economic growth.
"The spring selling season is off to a decent start," Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pennsylvania, said before the report. "I think it'll add more to growth this year than it has in the past several."
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