New Home Sales Jump to Two-Year High

New home sales rose in April to a two-year high, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Sales rose 15% to an annual rate of 504,000 units, the most since May 2008, Commerce said.

Economists had forecast the rate to rise to a 425,000-unit annual pace, Bloomberg reported.

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.

New home sales account for about 15% of residential real estate sales.