Economic Watch: New Home Sales Skyrocket to Six-Year High

Sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. are booming with it hitting its highest level in six years during August and posting the second straight monthly gain.

The U.S. Commerce Department reports it hit an annual rate of 504,000 during the month, an 18% increase above July’s upwardly revised rate, marking the biggest once-month increase in 22 years, and 33% above the level from August 2013.

Sales in all the different regions of the country posted month-over-month gains, except in the Midwest, where it was relatively unchanged. In the West sales increased 50%, up 29.2% in the Northeast and 7.8% higher in the South.

For comparison, overall sales of new homes were around the 1 million per-month level just before the start of the Great Recession.

This report follows one from earlier this week indicating new home starts fell sharply in August following a surge in July, leading to concern up until today’s new report, while homebuilder confidence in the market is at its highest level in nearly a decade.