Sales of newly built, single-family homes rose 3.5% in June from an upwardly revised May reading to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 592,000 units, according to newly released data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. New home sales are up 9.3% in the second quarter of 2016 from the first quarter. 

“This positive report is in line with our forecast for a gradual recovery of the housing market,” said Ed Brady, National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) chairman. “For builders to meet the increasing demand for housing, we need to address supply-side headwinds such as shortages of lots and labor.” 

“The fact that new home sales reached their highest pace in over eight years shows the housing market is gaining momentum,” said Robert Dietz, NAHB chief economist. “The market should continue to firm throughout the year, propelled by low mortgage interest rates and solid growth in employment.” 

The inventory of new homes for sale was 244,000 in June, which is a 4.9-month supply at the current sales pace. The median sales price of new houses sold was $306,700. Regionally, new home sales rose by 10.9% in the West and 10.4% in the Midwest. Sales fell by 0.3% in the South and 5.6% in the Northeast. 

For more information, visit www.nahb.org, http://portal.hud.gov, or www.census.gov.