Feb. New Home Sales Jump 5.3%

The rate at which new homes are being sold in the United States jumped 5.3% in February to an annualized pace of 875,000, a government report released Wednesday said.

When new home sales are high, demand for trucking services can increase as new homeowners move furniture and other items into their homes.

he increase in new home sales was the fourth in five months, the Commerce Department said. January’s sales figures were revised to an annualized 831,000, Commerce reported.

Despite the relatively strong housing market, the pace of sales was still lower than the 907,000-home pace from February of 2000.

Analysts attributed the increase in sales to low fixed mortgage rates, which are at 30-year lows, Bloomberg said.

New home sales account for 15% of all home sales in the U.S., with existing homes making up the remaining 85%.

Analysts had expected an increase to a rate of 890,000 homes during the month, up from an originally reported January figure of 823,000 homes a year

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