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Sales of new US homes fell 3.3 percent in February

Slowest in 5 months

WASHINGTON — Fewer people bought new US homes in February. Sales fell to the slowest pace in five months, a sign the housing market has yet to recover fully from brutal winter weather.

Sales declined 3.3 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 440,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That was down from a revised rate of 455,000 in January.

Buying dropped off during February in the Northeast, which was battered by snowstorms. It also fell in Western states, where last year’s price increases have made homes less affordable.

New-home sales have declined 1.1 percent over the past 12 months. Despite the cold winter, sales are still on track to exceed the 428,000 total from 2013, when they rose 16.3 percent to their highest level in five years.

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Most economists expect sales to rebound as the spring buying season begins. Warmer weather brings more traffic to open houses, and families are usually reluctant to move in the middle of the school year.

Still, other indicators from February suggest a sector-wide rebound has yet to begin.

An index tracking mortgage applications fell to its lowest since December 2000. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported its seasonally adjusted index of refinancing and home-buying demand dropped 8.5 percent to 348.5 in the week ended Feb. 21.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales declined 0.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6 million. That was the sixth decline in the past seven months.

The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index was 46 in February. Readings below 50 indicate that more builders view sales conditions as poor rather than good.

Builders started work on 907,000 homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in February, down 0.2 percent from January.

Associated Press