New-Home Sales Decline

New-homes sales fell 1.8% in February -- the fourth consecutive monthly decline -- and builders will be hawking a large inventory of newly built houses as the spring homebuying season begins. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that sales of new single-family homes fell from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 601,000 in January to 590,000 in February -- down 30% from the level recorded in February 2007. The January number was revised upward by 13,000 sales -- which is some good news. However, builders still have a 9.8-month supply of unsold homes on their hands, and the economists at the National Association of Home Builders don't expect to see a jump in sales this year. The NAHB's latest forecast projects that sales will remain at a 603,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate in 2008 -- going up to 714,000 in 2009. The Census Bureau, an agency of the Commerce Department, can be found online at http://www.doc.gov.