More Americans than forecast signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes in April, indicating a pickup in the housing market during the busy spring selling period.

Sales on e-commerce websites increased 3.5% in the first three months of the year from the previous quarter, reaching a record $80 billion worth of purchases, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Commerce Department on May 15.

Sales at U.S. retailers changed little in April, starting the second quarter on a weak note as Americans remained reluctant to splurge.

The number of Americans who signed contracts in March to buy previously owned homes climbed after the biggest increase in more than four years, a sign for further progress in the housing recovery.

Purchases of new homes slumped more than forecast in March from a seven-year high, a sign progress in the industry will be halting.

Sales of previously owned homes climbed in March to the highest level since September 2013 as job growth and cheap borrowing costs helped sustain the progress in residential real estate.

A new gauge from Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, suggests the national market is in its best shape since 2001 and there's no reason to fear a national downturn, no less a bursting bubble.