Sales of new single-family homes fell 3.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000 for February, according to a Commerce Department report (link opens a PDF) released today. After January's rate clocked in at a solid revised 455,000, this latest report came in exactly where analysts had expected: a slower 440,000, the slowest pace in five months.
Source: Census.gov
On a regional level, new homes sales both soared and stumbled. Northeast sales fell 32.4% from January, while Midwest sales jumped 36.7%. New home sales in the South stayed relatively steady (-1.5%), while West sales fell 15.9%. In the past 12 months, national sales of new homes have fallen 1.1%.
Despite the seasonal hit by a cold winter, sales are still on track to exceed the 428,000 total from 2013, when they rose 16.3% to their highest level in five years
At the current rate of sales, there is an estimated 5.2 months of supply, compared with 5.0 months in January. The median sales prices increased $1,000 from January to hit $261,800. In February 2013, the median sales price for a new home was $265,100.
-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.
