Purchases of new homes in the U.S. in May showed the highest increase in 22 years, indicating the industry is rebounding from a winter-induced lull at the start of the year, the Washington Post reported today. Sales surged 18.6 percent, the biggest one-month gain since January 1992, to a 504,000 annualized pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed Tuesday. The reading was the strongest since May 2008. The report, following data on Monday showing a pickup in existing-home sales, indicates that housing is gathering momentum as employment improves and borrowing costs stabilize. The median sales price rose 6.9 percent from May 2013 to reach $282,000, the report showed. Purchases climbed in all four regions, led by a 54.5 percent jump in the Northeast. The supply of homes at the current sales rate dropped to 4.5 months, the lowest since June 2013, from 5.3 months in April.
