Sales of new single-family houses in May rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 546,000 according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The May rate is 2.2 percent above the revised April rate of 534,000 and is 19.5 percent above the year-ago rate of 457,000.

Sales of new single-family houses in April rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 517,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. The April rate is 6.8 percent above the revised March rate of 484,000 and 26.1 percent above the year-ago rate of 410,000.