Sales of new single-family homes nationwide rose more than expected in June, while the inventory of homes for sale fell to a more than 11-year low, government data showed on Monday.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 384,000 in June, the Commerce Department reported, up 11 percent from May, while the number of new homes for sale fell to 281,000, the lowest since February 1998.

The rise in sales and the declining inventory are further indications the housing sector, which led the United States into the current recession, may have hit bottom and is starting to rebound. Despite the encouraging data, the median sale price for a new home fell to $206,200, down 5.8 percent from the previous month, and down 12 percent from a year ago.