Sales of new single-family homes climbed 5.4% to a 507,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in July, according to data released by the Commerce Department Tuesday.
The increase came after a revised 7.7% drop to a 481,000 rate in June, originally reported as a 6.8% decrease to 482,000.
Thomson Reuters' poll of economists had predicted a 510,000 sales level for September.
Sales of new homes were 25.8% better than the 403,000 rate in July 2014, Commerce said.
The supply of new homes at the current sales rate fell to 5.2 months from 5.3 months.
At the end of July, the number of new homes on the market grew to 218,000 from 214,000.
The unadjusted average price of a new single-family home slipped to $361,600 from $319,600.
Meanwhile, the unadjusted median price rose to $285,900 from $277,500 in the previous month.
Sales increased in three of the four regions of the country in the month.
Sales in the Northeast were up 23.1% to 32,000 from 26,000 and sales in the West grew 6.7% to 127,000 from 119,000. Sales in the South were up 5.8% to 294,000 from 278,000, and Midwest sales slid 6.9% to 54,000 from 58,000.
