New Home Sales Jump 11.1% from Record Low

New home sales jumped 11.1% March from a record low in February, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 300,000 from a revised 270,000 in February that was higher than the originally reported 250,000 pace, a record low.

Economists had forecast the March rate to rise to a 280,000-unit pace, Bloomberg reported.

The median price fell 4.9% from the same month in 2010.

Sales rose in three of four regions, with the exception of the South, which was unchanged.

New home sales account for about 15% of residential real estate sales. Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry van freight carriers that haul household appliances and furniture.