Coming on the heels of an upwardly revised number for May, the gain marks a third consecutive month of improved sales activity, a sign that the housing market may finally have reached its bottom.
"Today's report is good news that indicates the nation's housing market may be in the process of turning the corner," said Joe Robson, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
However, Robson warned that the key to moving out of the recession is to get Americans back to work to push up demand for new and existing homes.
"Congress and the administration should know that housing can be a significant generator of good jobs," Robson said. "We need to make housing a priority in the recovery process, otherwise we could continue to bounce along a bottom for some time."
NAHB chief economist David Crowe said the inventory of new homes has hit its lowest level in years, but the pace of home sales in June was still more than 21 percent below sales in June 2008.
