New home sales dropped in February

WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- Sales of new single-family homes dropped January to February, but rose compared to the same month of 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Sales for the month came to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,00, which is 4.6 percent lower than January's revised estimate of 431,000, but 12.3 percent higher than February 2012, when the annual rate stood at 366,000.

The Commerce Department said the average price for a new home sold in November was $313,700.

At the end of February, there was an estimated 1523,0090 new homes on the market, representing a 4.4 month supply at the current rate of sales.