The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Tuesday that the sales of new single-family homes climbed 16.6 percent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676, 000 units in May.

Economists had forecast the sales pace of 640,000 last month.

April’s sales pace was revised down to 580,000 units from the originally reported 623,000 units.

According to the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, increased 15.2 percent m-o-m in May, while sales in the Northeast surged 45.5 percent m-o-m, sales in the West climbed 29.0 percent m-o-m and sales in the Midwest rose 6.4 percent m-o-m.