New Home Sales Jump to Two-Year High

New home sales jumped 7.6% in May to a two-year high, the Commerce Department said Monday.

Purchases rose to a 369,000 annual rate, the most since April 2010, Commerce said.

The rate was higher than economists’ median of 347,000, Bloomberg reported.

Purchases rose in two of four regions; a 37% jump in the Northeast and a 13% gain in the south. Demand fell 11% in the Midwest and 3.5% in the West.

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.