WASHINGTON – Sales of U.S. new homes recovered in April after slumping in the previous two months. But Americans are still buying new homes at a slower pace than they did a year ago.
The Commerce Department says sales of new homes rose 6.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000. That compares with a revised annual pace of 407,000 in March, when purchases fell 6.9 percent. Buying had dropped 4.4 percent in February, in part because of snowstorms.
April sales surged in the Midwest and edged up in the South. Home-buying was flat in the West and fell in the Northeast.
New-home sales have declined 4.2 percent over the past 12 months.
The median sales price fell a slight 2.1 percent during the past month to $275,800.
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