The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Friday that the sales of new single-family homes jumped 20.7 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,021,000 units in March. This was the highest reading since August 2006.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 886,000 last month.

February’s sales pace was revised up to 846,000 units from the originally reported 775,000 units.

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, climbed 40.2 percent m-o-m in March. Meanwhile, sales in the Midwest surged 30.7 percent m-o-m and those in the Northeast rose 20.0 percent m-o-m. In the West, however, new home sales tumbled 30.0 percent m-o-m in March.

In y-o-y terms, new home sales were up 66.8 percent in March.