NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New home sales edged higher in September, continuing a recovery from the all-time lows reached earlier this year, according to government figures reported Wednesday.

Sales of newly built single-family homes rose to an annual rate of 307,000 units in September, up from 288,000 units the month before, the Commerce Department said.

The sales figure was higher that the annual rate of 299,000 expected by analysts surveyed by Briefing.com.

The August sales were the second lowest level since the Commerce Department started tracking new home sales in 1963, trailing only the 282,000 rate reported in May.

The government said the median sales price of new homes sold in September was $223,800.

A separate report issued Monday by the National Association of Realtors indicated that existing home sales climbed for the second month in a row in September, fueling some hope that a housing recovery is underway.

The-CNN-Wire/Atlanta
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