February New Home Sales Rise 4.7%

New home sales rose 4.7% in February after bottoming out in January at the lowest rate on record, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 337,000 units, Commerce said. Economists had forecast a drop to 300,000, Bloomberg reported.

The median price of a new home fell from a year earlier to $200,900, the lowest since December 2003, and new home sales fell 41% from last February.

Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry van freight carriers that haul household appliances and furniture.

New home sales account for about 15% of residential real estate sales.