The U.S.
Commerce Department informed on Tuesday that the sales of new single-family
homes increased by 1.8 per cent m-o-m to a seasonally adjusted annual rate
of 676,000 units in February.
Economists
had foreseen a sales pace of 680,000 last month.
The January sales
pace was revised upwardly to 664,000 units from the originally reported 657,000 units.
According to
the report, new home sales in the South, the largest area, jumped by 6.6 per
cent m-o-m in February to 438,000. In addition, new home sales
in the Midwest climbed by 20.6 per cent m-o-m to 76,000. Meanwhile, new home
sales in the Northeast tumbled by 21.4 per cent m-o-m to 22,000 and those in
the West plunged
by 13.6 per cent m-o-m to 140,000.
Compared to February
2024, new home sales soared by 5.1 per cent.
The report also
showed that the median sales price decreased by 1.5 per cent y-o-y to $414,500 in
February, while the average sales price dropped by 4.4 per cent y-o-y to $487,100.