New Home Sales Rise 8.3% to Five-Year High

New home sales rose 8.3% to a five-year high in June, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 497,000 homes, the highest level since May 2008. The median selling price rose 7.4% from a year ago, to $249,700.

The rate topped economists’ median forecast of a 484,000 rate, Bloomberg News reported.

Purchases rose in three of four regions, led by a 18.5% rise in the Northeast and a 13.8% gain in the West.

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.