New Home Sales Rise 2.1% to Five-Year High

New home sales rose 2.1% to an almost five-year high in May, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 476,000 homes, the highest level since July 2008. The median selling price rose 10.3% from a year ago, to $263,900.

The rate topped economists’ median forecast of a 460,000 pace, Bloomberg News reported.

Purchases rose in three of four regions, led by a 40.7% jump in the Midwest and a 20.7% gain in the Northeast.

Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies, which haul building materials, and for dry van freight carriers, which haul household appliances and furniture.