WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new single-family homes surged 18% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000, the fastest pace in more than six years, led by the West, according to government data released Wednesday. August's result beat forecasts from economists polled by MarketWatch, who had expected a sales rate of 426,000, compared with an originally estimated pace of 412,000 for July, and may ease some concerns about the recovery's performance. On Wednesday, the government upwardly revised July's sales pace to 427,000. The sales pace rose 50% in the West, 29% in the Northeast and 8% in the South. Meanwhile, the pace was unchanged in the Midwest. Economists warn against reading too much into a single month's report, noting that the volatile new-home sales series undergoes revisions. The median price of new homes in August rose to $275,600, up 8% from a year earlier. August's supply of new homes on the market fell to 4.8 months at the current sales pace from 5.6 months in July. New-home sales in August were up 33% from a year earlier.
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