New-home sales in the U.S. rose more than expected in May, with record-low mortgage rates pulling buyers back into a housing market that froze up during the pandemic. Purchases of single-family houses climbed 16.6 per cent, the second-largest monthly advance since 1992, to a 676,000 annualized pace, government data showed Tuesday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 640,000. {image}Homebuilders are welcoming back buyers after social-distancing rules across much of the U.S. kept them on the sidelines in March and April. Newly built properties are gaining favor because previously owned houses ... (full story)