AC

New home sales rose nearly 10% in July, according to a government report Wednesday that bolstered signs of an improving housing market. Sales of new homes climbed to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, the highest pace since last September, the government said. That was a 9.6% increase over the revised rate for June – better than industry analysts had expected, but still 13.4% below the July 2008 rate. The sales rate has risen 31.6% from this year's lowest rate, which was set in January. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of July was 271,000, according to the government. That represents a supply of 7.5 months at the current sales rate, the lowest figure since April 2007 and well below January's supply of 12 months. "It's really good news. Inventory is down; sales are up," says Patrick Newport, with IHS Global Insight. The question, Newport says, is how much of a lift sales are getting from a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for...