Feb. New Home Sales Fall to Lowest Level on Record
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New home sales unexpectedly fell to the slowest pace on record last month, as prices slipped to an eight-year low, indicating the housing market is still a long way from recovery.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new-home sales plunged 16.9 percent to an annual pace of 250,000 in February, missing the economist estimate of 290,000.
The median price for homes sold last month dropped 8.9 percent from the same month last year to $202,100, the lowest level since December 2003. New home prices are now 30 percent higher than that of existing homes.
Sales in the Northeast dropped by the widest margin, 57.1 percent. The Mideast saw a 27.5 percent drop, West sales fell 14.7 percent, while the South decline 6.3 percent. The levels were record lows for all regions except the West.
There is currently a nine-month supply of new homes on the market.
The news is having ripple effect for homebuilding stocks. Sector ETF SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB) is down 1 percent.
Elsewhere around the sector, DR Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is down 1 percent, Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) down fractionally, and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is flat. Pulte (NYSE: PHM) is bucking the trend, up 2 percent after an upgrade at Goldman Sachs.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new-home sales plunged 16.9 percent to an annual pace of 250,000 in February, missing the economist estimate of 290,000.
The median price for homes sold last month dropped 8.9 percent from the same month last year to $202,100, the lowest level since December 2003. New home prices are now 30 percent higher than that of existing homes.
Sales in the Northeast dropped by the widest margin, 57.1 percent. The Mideast saw a 27.5 percent drop, West sales fell 14.7 percent, while the South decline 6.3 percent. The levels were record lows for all regions except the West.
There is currently a nine-month supply of new homes on the market.
The news is having ripple effect for homebuilding stocks. Sector ETF SPDR S&P Homebuilders (NYSE: XHB) is down 1 percent.
Elsewhere around the sector, DR Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) is down 1 percent, Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) down fractionally, and KB Home (NYSE: KBH) is flat. Pulte (NYSE: PHM) is bucking the trend, up 2 percent after an upgrade at Goldman Sachs.
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