More Americans than forecast signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes in February, indicating a pickup in the housing market ahead of the spring selling season.

COLUMBUS, Ind. — The Class 8 market will reach a peak in 2015 as a favorable freight market and improved trucker profitability lift the industry, ACT Research Co. projected.

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. unexpectedly rose in February to a seven-year high as stronger job gains helped bolster industry activity amid severe weather.

Sales of previously owned homes fell short of a 5 million annual rate in February for a second month, showing an industry struggling to gain traction amid rising prices and a lack of inventory.

Sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly decreased in February for a third consecutive month as inclement weather and low wage gains restrained shoppers.

More Americans signed contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes in January, rounding out a week of housing data that depicted an uneven recovery.

New homes in the U.S. sold at a faster pace than forecast in January, a sign of stabilization in the housing industry.

Broad-based price increases put more properties out of reach for American homebuyers in January, becoming the latest hurdle preventing a more robust recovery in residential real estate.

Sales at U.S. retailers fell more than forecast in January, reflecting smaller receipts at gasoline stations and declines at clothing and sporting goods stores.

Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes fell in December by the most in a year, a sign the industry’s recovery remains uneven.