Feb. gain in sales first since last July Sales of new homes nationwide rebounded by 4.7% in February after hitting a record low in the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday. Sales of new homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000 last month, higher than the 323,000 that economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected. See Economic Calendar. Meanwhile, the government revised January's sales pace for new homes to 322,000 units, up from the 309,000 reported earlier. This is still the record low for the series that started in 1963. The February level is the second lowest level on record. February's sales pace was down 41.1% compared with February 2008. The figures may overstate the level of sales, because they count canceled sales contracts, which have jumped in the past year. Inventories of unsold homes fell 2.9% to 330,000 in February. This represents a 12.2 month supply at the current sales pace. This is much higher that the 9.2-month supply of February 2008. Sales rose in two of four regions in February. The South had the biggest gain, showing an increase of 9.7% while sales in the West rose 6.6%. The Midwest took the biggest hit, showing a loss of 9.1%, while sales dropped by 3.2% in the Northeast. Midwest sales are al their lowest level since October 1982. The median sales price fell to $200,900, down a record 18.1% compared with February 2008. This is the lowest median price since December 2003. Government statisticians have low confidence in the monthly sales report, which is subject to sizable revisions as well as large sampling and other statistical errors. Indeed, the government says it can take up to five months to establish a new trend in sales. In a separate report issued Wednesday, the Commerce Department said that demand for durable goods jumped in February after six straight monthly gains.

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