Housing Market Recovering, New Home Sales Up 2.3 Percent in April

The U.S housing market continues to swing towards a recovery as positive data on new home sales were released earlier today. According to Reuters, the sale of new single family homes rose 2.3 percent in April.

The Commerce Department noted in the article that sales have increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 units. The Washington Times reports that this rate is the highest since January of this year and July of 2008. The report also indicated that the median sales price for new homes in April hit an all-time high of $271,600. This gain represents a 14.9 percent increase year over year.

Geographically, sales were highest in the west and south as each region saw low to modest gains of 10.8 percent and 3 percent respectively. Sales were down 16.7 percent in the northeast and 4.8 percent in the midwest, according to the Washington TImes.

The Department of Commerce also reported that April's inventory of new homes rose 3.3 percent to 156,000 units. This gain is the highest gain seen in the housing market since October of 2011. At the current April sales rate it would take 4.1 months for the housing market to clear.

Ben Bernake, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, commented on this optimistic data. He said, "Higher prices of houses and other assets, in turn, have increased household wealth and consumer confidence, spurring consumer spending and contributing to gains in production and employment."

According to the National Association of Home Builders, each new home that is built creates three new jobs for the year and generates about $90,000 in tax revenue.

Compared to last year April sales are up 29 percent. This metric, however, is still considered low by historical standards