Sales of new single-family homes grew 18.0% to a 504,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in August, according to data released by the Commerce Department Wednesday.
The increase came after a revised 1.9% gain to a 427,000 rate in July, originally reported as a 2.4% drop to 412,000.
Thomson Reuters' poll of economists had predicted a 430,000 sales level for August.
Sales of new homes were 33.0% better than the 379,000 rate in August 2013, Commerce said.
The supply of new homes at the current sales rate fell to 4.8 months from 5.6 months in July.
At the end of August, the number of new homes on the market slid to 203,000 from 201,000.
The unadjusted average price of a new single-family home climbed to $347,900 from $345,100.
Meanwhile, the unadjusted median price rose to $275,600 from $280,100 in the previous month.
Sales gained in three of the four regions of the country in the month and was flat in one.
Sales in the Northeast surged 29.2% to 31,000 from 24,000. Sales in the South were up 7.8% to 262,000 from 243,000, sales in the West rose 50.0% to 153,000 from 102,000 and Midwest sales remained at 58,000.
