New U.S. home sales fall to 13-year low

WASHINGTON, March 26 (UPI) -- New U.S. home sales fell in February to the lowest rate in 13 years, the U.S. Commerce Department reported Monday.

New single-family home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 590,000 units in February, down 1.8 percent from a revised 601,000 units in January, the department said.

February's figure was 29.8 percent less than year earlier, the report said.

The median sales price of a new home was $244,100 and the average price was $296,400, the report said.

At current prices, the department sad it would take 9.8 months for the inventory of 471,000 completed new homes to sell.