Notably, the national gain in sales was driven almost entirely by a surge in the South, where new-home sales rose 13.6% on the month and jumped 22.3% from a year ago. That increase might partly reflect delayed sales following a string of unusually severe winter storms in the South.

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in March, a sluggish start to the spring homebuying season as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged many prospective home shoppers.

Home prices in Wisconsin continue to go up, and there continue to be fewer homes for sale. The March report from the Wisconsin Realtors Association shows a double-digit drop in home sales and a nearly 4% increase in the median price in the state.