New Home Sales Jump in March on High Consumer Demand

Low interest rates and strong consumer demand fueled a solid increase in new home sales in March, despite the ongoing building materials challenges impacting the industry. Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 20.7% from an upwardly revised February number, to a 1.02 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.