February sales of new single-family homes reached the highest pace since February 2008, rising 7.8 percent over January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000 units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau. The rate is 24.8 percent higher than the February 2014 estimate of 432,000.
The rate is 24.8 percent higher than the February 2014 estimate of 432,000.
"Most sales activity continues to be among existing home owners who are trading up to new construction and taking advantage of low mortgage rates," said National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist David Crowe in a statement. "First-time home buyers remain absent from the market, restricted by tight lending conditions."
Regionally, new home sales increased 152.9 percent in the Northeast and 10.1 percent in the South. Sales dropped 6 percent in the West and 12.9 percent in the Midwest.
"Today's numbers are a great start to the spring buying season," said Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo., in a statement. "Hopefully, this is an indicator of how the rest of the year will fare."
The inventory of new homes for sale was at 210,000 in February, a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace.
