The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports sales of new single-family homes rose 11.1 percent in March to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 300,000 units, but the pace of new home sales was similar to the last six months of 2010.  NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said, “A limiting factor is the extremely thin inventory of new homes for sale, which is now at its second-lowest level in history.  Builders continue to confront major challenges in obtaining financing to build new homes, and the shortage of new product makes it that much tougher for them to compete with existing homes on the market.  At the same time, tighter lending conditions are making it more difficult for qualified buyers to obtain a mortgage.”  New home sales increased in the Northeast, West, and Midwest, but declined only slightly in the South.