New homes sales in Feb. fall to lowest in 50 years

3/24/2011

WASHINGTON — Sales of new homes plunged in February to the slowest pace on records dating back nearly half a century.

New-home sales fell 16.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It's the third consecutive monthly decline and far below the 700,000-a-year pace that economists view as healthy. New-home sales now account for just 5 percent of total home sales so far this year.