Sales of new US homes rose in April to the second highest level since the summer of 2008 while the median price for a new home hit a record high, in further signs housing is recovering.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday new-home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 in April, up 2.3 per cent from March and just slightly below January’s 458,000.

Both January and April had the fastest sales rates since July 2008.

The median price of a US home sold in April was $US271,600 ($A281,713.52), the highest level on government records going back to 1993.

The April price was 8.3 per cent higher than in March and 13.1 per cent higher than a year ago.

Steady job creation and near-record-low mortgage rates are spurring more Americans to buy homes.