New Home Sales Rise 7.3% to 323,000 in April

Data from the US Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development Tuesday showed a 7.3 percent rise in the sale of new one-family houses for the month of April. The seasonally adjusted annual rate came in at 323,000, better than the 300,000 economists had been anticipating.

Last month's reading marks the highest level of new home sales since the beginning of 2011.

Compared to April of 2010, when new home sales totaled 420,000, the reading is down about 23.1 percent.

New homes sold at an average of $268,900 during April, while the median sales price was $217,900.

Homebuilding stocks initially surged following the housing data, trading up as much as 0.66 percent (as measured by the SPDR Homebuilders ETF (NYSE: XHB), however began paring gains shortly after. The fund has since turned negative, now down 0.16 percent.

The Street will get a reading on pending home sales on Friday, May 27. Economists are currently looking for a 1 percent month-over-month decline.

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