Golden Sun eXtra Your Local News Source, Mohave County, AZ

Sales of new homes fell unexpectedly to the lowest level on record in February as stormy winter weather kept buyers on the sidelines. The weak results make clear the difficulties facing the housing industry as it tries to recover from the worst slump in decades.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new home sales fell 2.2% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 308,000. It was the fourth consecutive month of declines and the worst showing on records dating to 1963. Earlier predictions were that February sales would rise to an annual rate of 320,000.

The new home sales report reflects signed contracts to purchase homes rather than completed sales. The number of new homes up for sale in February increased slightly to 236,000. At the current sales pace, it would take more than 9 months to exhaust that supply.

Home sales have been sluggish during the winter even though the deadline for a tax credit for first-time home buyers was extended. It had been set to expire on Nov. 30. The earlier deadline caused sales to surge last fall. Congress extended the deadline until April 30 and expanded it to cover existing homeowners who move. But economists and real estate agents say the extension has not had much of an impact on sales.

Some homebuilders say their outlook is getting better, but the recovery is not a strong one.

SOCIAL BOOKMARK IT! Backflip BlinkBits Blinklist blogmarks del.icio.us digg Furl Raw Sugar reddit Shadows Simpy Spurl Technorati Yahoo My Web More... | WHAT IS THIS?

SOCIAL BOOKMARK IT!
Backflip BlinkBits Blinklist blogmarks del.icio.us digg Furl Raw Sugar reddit Shadows Simpy Spurl Technorati Yahoo My Web More... | WHAT IS THIS?