New home sales rise to 337,000 in February

Sales of new single-family houses in February were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

This is 4.7% above the revised January rate of 322,000, but is 41.1 below the February 2008 estimate of 572,000.

One explanation for the increase: Mortgage rates are at a new low with a national average of 4.6% for a 30-year fixed rate.

The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2009 was $200,900; the average sales price was $251,000. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 330,000. This represents a supply of 12.2 months at the current sales rate, according to the government statistics.