WASHINGTON - New home sales tumbled 16.9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 250,000, a record low, as the median sales price dropped for the second consecutive month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.
Severe winter storms this winter hindered housing activity, leading to steep declines in home sales, prices and groundbreakings in February. January new home sales were revised higher to 301,000 from 284,000 reported last month.
In February, sales dropped to record lows in all regions, except the West. Data on new home sales go back to January 1963.
Economists expected 290,000 new home sales, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
The median sales price for new homes dropped to $202,100, down 8.9% from a year ago. The median sales price, while not adjusted for inflation, dropped to the lowest level since December 2003. Only two months ago, the median sales price was $236,800.
The inventory of new homes available for sale was flat in February at 186,000. The supply increased to 8.9 months from 7.4 months.
