U.S. new home sales decline

WASHINGTON — Sales of new single-family houses in February 2016 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 512,000, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The rate is 2% above the revised January rate of 502,000, but 6.1% below the February 2015 estimate of 545,000. The median sales price of new houses sold in February 2016 was $301,400; the average sales price was $348,900. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 240,000. This represents a supply of 5.6 months at the current sales rate.