Washington, Jul 24 (AP) Sales of new homes rose a sharp 13,8% in June, the second straight increase after two months when sales plunged as the country went into lockdown because of the coronavirus.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that the June gain pushed sales of new homes to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 776,000. The increase follows a 19.4% jump in May.

Also Read | Sara Ali Khan Reveals Sushant Singh Rajput and Saif Ali Khan's Shared Interests In a Beautiful Post As Their Film Dil Bechara Begins Streaming (View Post).

A separate report Wednesday showed sales of previously owned homes surged 20.7% in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.72 million.

Even with the gain, which followed three months of declines, new home sales remain toughly 20% below pre-pandemic levels.

Also Read | Kasautii Zindagii Kay 2: Aamna Sharif Reveals Her 'Shoot From Home' Experience.

The median price of a new home sold in June increased to $329,200, up 5.6% from a year ago.(AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)