After reporting a sharp drop in new home sales in the previous month, the Commerce Department released a report on Tuesday showing a relatively modest rebound in sales in the month of March.

The report showed that new home sales rose 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 417,000 in March from the revised February rate of 411,000. Economists had expected sale to climb to an annual rate of 419,000.

The monthly increase in new home sales in March came after sales tumbled 7.6 percent in February from a four-year high of 445,000 in January.