MW: Feb. new-home sales dip 1.6% while prices jump
By Steve Goldstein
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Sales of new homes dipped 1.6% in February though prices jumped, according to data released by the Commerce Department on Friday. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted 313,000 in February, from a slightly downwardly revised 318,000 in January. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected improving sales, at a 330,000 annual rate. Median sales prices, which are not seasonally adjusted, jumped 8.8% to $233,700, which is the biggest one-month percentage rise in 14 months. Compared to Feb. 2011, median prices climbed 6%.
