Sales of newly built homes jumped 9.6 percent in July, rising for the fourth month in a row and adding more evidence that the housing market is on the mend.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that sales climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000. That’s the highest pace of sales since September 2008, when an additional 3,000 homes were sold. The July figures are up from the revised rate of 395,000 in June.
Sales picked up in three out of the nation’s four geographic areas, with a sizeable gain of 16.2 percent in the South, the nation’s largest-selling region, which includes the Washington area. Sales fell only in the Midwest, by 7.6 percent.
The report reaffirms the positive trends reflected in other national housing market indicators. Yesterday, two closely watched indexes found that home prices were rising in most parts of the country. Home sales, construction activity and builder confidence have all risen in recent months.
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