New single-family home sales rose in March to a seasonally adjusted rate of 724,000, a 7.4% increase from February’s rate and a 6% jump from the March 2024 rate of 683,000, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The number of new houses on the market at the end of March was 503,000, a slight increase of 0.6% from February’s estimate of 500,000, but 7.9% higher than the new-house inventory from March 2024. The number of new homes on the market represents a supply of 8.3 months at the current sales level. That figure is 6.7% below the supply level for February, but 1.2% above the level for the same month one year ago.

New homes are getting cheaper, with the median new-home sales price in March falling 1.9% from the previous month to $403,600. That price is down 7.5% from March 2024 when the median new home sold for $436,400.

The average sale price of new houses in March was $497,700, which was 1% above average prices in February, but down 4.7% from March 2024 when the average new home sold for $522,500.