Title: Surge in New Home Sales in America

New single-family home sales in the United States jumped to their highest level in nearly a year and a half in May, benefiting from a scarcity of previously owned homes available for sale. The Commerce Department reported today, Tuesday, that "new home sales surged 12.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 units last month, the highest level since February 2022." The sales pace for April was revised to 680,000 units from an initially reported 683,000 units. Economists surveyed by Reuters had expected new home sales, which account for a small share of U.S. home sales, to decline to 675,000 units. Sales were up 20 percent year-over-year in May.