US sales of new one-family houses in February 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 - the lowest sales pace since 559,000 in February 1995 - according to estimates released jointly today by the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
This is 1.8 percent below the revised January rate of 601,000 and is 29.8 percent below the February 2007 estimate of 840,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2008 was $244,100; the average sales price was $296,400. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 471,000. This represents a supply of 9.8 months at the current sales rate.
Regionally in February, new-home sales decreased 6.4% in the Midwest and 40.3% in the Northeast. Sales climbed 5.7% in the South and 0.7% in the West.
An estimated 49,000 homes were actually sold in February, up from 43,000 in January, based on figures not seasonally adjusted.
