WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes took the biggest monthly jump in 47 years in March, while orders for most large manufactured products rose by the largest amount since the recession started.
The two reports were a sign that the recovery is picking up speed, and some economists are raising their estimates for US economic growth this year.
“The recovery has been proceeding at a more rapid pace than we thought,’’ said Zach Pandl, economist with Nomura Securities in New York.
Factories are benefiting from a sharp increase in orders from US and foreign businesses. But the housing market’s fuel is coming from a less sustainable source: government subsidies. Some analysts predict demand for homes will fall again over the summer, preventing the beleaguered sector from adding much to the economic recovery.
New home sales rose 27 percent in March, bouncing off February’s record low, the Commerce Department said yesterday. They rose to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 411,000, the strongest month since last July.
The rise in new home sales was seen nationwide. Sales grew a whopping 44 percent in the South and 36 percent in the Northeast. They also rose about 6 percent in the West and 3 percent in the Midwest.
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