WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The sales volume of new single-family houses in the United States rose in May to the highest level in about five years, evidence of the recovering property market, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Tuesday.

　　Sales of new single-family houses in May increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 476,000 units, up 2.1 percent from April and up 29 percent from a year earlier.

　　Meanwhile, the median sales price of new houses sold in May edged down to 263,900 U.S. dollars from 272,600 dollars in April.

　　The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of May was 161,000 units, which represented a supply of 4.1 months at the current sales rate.

　　Economists held that new home sales, though accounting for a relatively small share in the housing market, still have an outsized impact on job creation and economic growth.