New Home Sales Fall Below 300K Rate

Washington, DC, Feb. 24, 2011 -- New home sales in the U.S. fell in January, almost completely negating the strong gain seen in December, the Commerce Department said.

The decrease in new-home sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 284,000 was below the 300,000 pace expected by economists.

New-home sales in December rose a revised 15.7% to a 325,000 level. New-home sales are down 18.6% compared with a year ago.

The supply of new homes fell 0.5% to 188,000 units.