Sales of new U.S. single-family homes increased more than expected in March as buyers rushed to take advantage of a decline in mortgage rates, but a gloomy economic outlook poses a challenge to the housing market recovery.

With the caveat that pretty much any economic data collected before April’s tariff bonanza should be taken with a grain of salt — salt that hopefully isn’t imported — the Census Bureau dropped some fresh numbers this morning on newly constructed home sales in March.

According to the Census Bureau, new home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 724,000 last month, higher than the 684,000 forecast.