New home sales see small uptick in March

After a steady flow of bad news, the housing market received some welcome positive developments recently after the report that more people were moving into new homes last month.

According to a joint release issued by the U.S. Census Breau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, sales of new single-family houses rose in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000. The increase represents an 11 percent rise above the 270,000 single-family dwelling places sold in February. However, sales are down nearly 22 percent year-over-year, from March 2010, when approximately 384,000 new residential properties were sold.

The report puts an end to three-straight months of declining new home sales, but given that many economists believe 700,000 new homes need to sell per year for the real estate industry to qualify as "healthy," the findings may not change analysts' low expectations.

However, more home buying activity may signal renewed confidence for home builders. Earlier this month, the National Association of Home Builders reported builder confidence in April remained low by holding at a score of 16, the same score it's been for five of the past six months.