Sales of new single-family homes climbed 5.7% to a 552,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in August, according to data released by the Commerce Department Thursday.
The increase came after a revised 12.0% gain to a 522,000 rate in July, originally reported as a 5.4% increase to 507,000.
Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists had predicted a 520,000 sales level for August.
Sales of new homes were 21.6% better than the 454,000 rate in August 2014, Commerce said.
The supply of new homes at the current sales rate fell to 4.7 months from 4.9 months.
At the end of August, the number of new homes on the market grew to 216,000 from 215,000.
The unadjusted average price of a new single-family home climbed to $353,400 from $344,800.
Meanwhile, the unadjusted median price rose to $292,700 from $291,100 in the previous month.
Sales increased in three of the four regions of the country in the month.
Sales in the Northeast were up 24.1% to 36,000 from 29,000 and sales in the West grew 5.4% to 137,000 from 130,000. Sales in the South were up 7.4% to 319,000 from 297,000, and Midwest sales slid 9.1% to 60,000 from 66,000.
