New Home Sales Rise to Three-Month High

New home sales rose 2.3% in April to a three-month high, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Sales rose to a 454,000 annual rate from 444,000 in March, that was faster than first estimated, Commerce said.

The April rate was above economists’ median forecast of 425,000, Bloomberg News reported.

Purchases rose 10.8% in the West, rose in the South and dropped in the Northeast and Midwest.

New home purchases were 14.9% higher in April than the same time last year, Bloomberg reported.

Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies, which haul building materials, and for dry van freight carriers, which haul household appliances and furniture.