New home sales bounce to a pace of 300,000

New home sales in March increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000, according to data released today by the Department of Commerce.

The new residential sales activity is 11.1% ahead of the upwardly revised February rate of 270,000, but it is down 21.9% from the March 2010 pace of 384,000.

While still at historical lows, March's pace of new home sales was higher than the 280,000 rate predicted by analysts.

The government also reported this morning that the median sales price of new houses sold in March was $213,800; and the average sales price was $246,800. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of March was 183,000. This represents a supply of 7.3 months at the current sales rate.