Two days after existing home sales put a damper on hope for the housing market, a dazzling new home sales report has it roaring back.

Sales of new single-family homes surged 18 percent to a 504,000 annualized pace in August, up from a 427,000 pace in July and a 419,000 pace in June, according to data released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. The report surpassed predictions – economist had been expecting about 430,000 annualized.

“Altogether, this is a much stronger report than expected and suggests housing demand has stabilized in recent quarters,” Michael Gapen, US economist with Barclays Research, writes in an e-mailed statement.

The stock of new homes for sale reached a four-year high, inching up to 203,000 last month, following 201,000 in July and 169,000 in June. But sales were so strong that the months’ supply of homes available fell to 4.8 after holding steady at 5.6 in June and July.

read more…

http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2014/0924/New-home-sales-leap-to-six-year-high-renewing-hope-for-the-market