New U.S. single-family home sales in January fell less than expected and supply rose to its highest level since 2010, hopeful signs for the sluggish housing market.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that sales dipped 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 481,000 units. December's sales pace was revised up to 482,000 units, the highest level since June 2008, from 481,000 units.
Sales last month were likely held back by inclement weather in the Northeast, where sales recorded their biggest drop since June 2012.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast new home sales, which account for about 9.1 percent of the housing market falling to a 470,000-unit pace last month.
Compared to January last year, sales were up 5.3 percent.
Housing activity has remained lackluster since hitting a speed bump in the second half of 2013 as tight home inventories and higher prices sideline first-time buyers, against the backdrop of tepid wage growth.
It has lagged the overall economy, even though mortgage rates have declined substantially from their 2013 peaks. Recent data showed a plunge in home resales in January and softer single-family housing starts and permits.
Last month, new home sales in the Northeast plunged 51.6 percent to a record low. Sales in the South rose 2.2 percent to their highest level since May 2008. They surged 19.2 percent in the Midwest, but sales in the West slipped 0.8 percent.
The stock of new houses available on the market rose 1.4 percent last month to 218,000, the highest since March 2010.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/25/us-usa-economy-homesales-idUSKBN0LT1LM20150225
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