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(Sharecast News) - Home selling activity in the States picked up unexpectedly last month.
According to the US Department of Commerce, new home sales jumped at a month-on-month pace of 9.6% in March to reach 683,000.
Economists had forecast a dip to 632,000.
The previous month's pace of sales on the other hand was revised down from a preliminary estimate of 640,000 to 623,000.
Home prices also rose from $433,200 to $449,800 on a median basis and from $501,800 to $562,400 on an average basis.
The inventory of homes available for sale meanwhile continued to decline, from the 8.4 months' worth of sales in February to 7.6 for March.
-- More to follow --
