New home sales in the United States surged unexpectedly in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, reaching the highest rate in over a year despite efforts to cool the economy.

Sales of new properties have been rising in recent months, with a lack of inventory elsewhere pushing buyers into the market.

May sales of new single-family houses jumped 12.2 percent over the previous month — to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 763,000 — the Commerce Department said in a statement.

That defied expectations of a decline, and is markedly higher than April’s revised rate of 680,000.

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