Sales of newly-constructed homes rebounded in May, and government data was revised to show a stronger spring selling season than had been previously reported, another sign that the housing market remains on firm footing.

New-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was 2.9% higher than in April and 8.9% higher than a year ago.

It was the second-highest monthly tally of 2017 and easily beat forecasts of a 590,000 pace, which was the consensus among economists surveyed by MarketWatch.