US Feb New Home Sales Fall 16.9% To Record Low
By ALAN ZIBEL AND JEFF BATER
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes plunged last month to a new record low and prices fell to the lowest in more than seven years as the U.S. housing market sputters even as other parts of the economy turn around.
Sales sank 16.9% from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000 in February, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. The previous record low of 274,000 was set last August.
New Home Sales Feb Jan Overall Sales: 250K 301Kr
Percentage Change: -16.9% -9.6%r
Months' Supply: 8.9 7.4r
Consensus: 290K
Actual: 250K
The results were far worse than forecast. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had predicted the sales rate would rise 2.1% to an annual rate of 290,000. Sales were down 28.0% from February 2010.
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