Washington, DC, May 25--The sale of new homes in April inched up 0.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.316 million and the highest level ever, according to the Commerce Department.
March's sales pace was revised lower to 1.313 million annualized from 1.431 million.
Economists were expecting a decline to about 1.33 million in April.
The number of unsold new houses rose 0.2% to 440,000, a 4.1-month supply at the April sales pace. The median sales price of a new home rose 3.8% year-over-year to $230,800.
Sales were up 37.2% in the tiny Northeast market and rose 2.8% in the West. Sales fell 5.3% in the South and dropped 0.5% in the Midwest.
