New-Home Sales in U.S. Drop to Lowest Since June 2000 (Joe Richter)

  New-home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in February to the lowest level in almost seven years, dimming prospects for a quick revival in housing.

  By Joe Richter

  March 26 (Bloomberg) -- New-home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in February to the lowest level in almost seven years, dimming prospects for a quick revival in housing.

  Purchases declined 3.9 percent to an annual pace of 848,000 last month from a revised 882,000 rate in January that was lower than previously reported, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The supply of unsold homes at the current sales pace rose to the highest in 16 years.

  Cold weather and concern that a glut of unsold homes will further depress prices may have deterred homebuyers, economists said. The report suggests that a slump in home construction will further weigh on the economy as a wave of mortgage foreclosures adds to the woes of builders including KB Home.

  ``We're probably not going to see the pickup in housing by the end of the year that we were looking for,'' said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York. ``Housing imbalances will take longer to correct because inventories aren't declining very fast.''

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