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BloombergBy Shobhana Chandra
March 25 (Bloomberg) -- Purchases of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in February from a record low as plummeting prices and cheaper mortgage rates lured some buyers.
Sales increased 4.7 percent to an annual pace of 337,000 after a 322,000 rate in January, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The median sales price fell 18 percent, and unsold homes at the current sales pace were the fewest since June 2002.
Demand for new homes has been limited by the highest jobless rate in a quarter century and shrinking household wealth, a sign housing may stay in recession until steps to cut borrowing costs and reduce mortgage defaults take hold. Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly rose last month as buyers snatched up foreclosed properties at bargain rates.
``The housing slump may be nearing a bottom,'' David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York, said before the report. ``However, we would expect sales and other metrics of housing activity to recover only gradually.''
Economists forecast new home sales would drop to a 300,000 annual pace from an originally reported 309,000 rate in January, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 65 economists. Forecasts ranged from 280,000 to 340,000.
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