New Home Sales Down 3.1% in March

U.S. new home sales fell 3.1% in March, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, as it revised higher February numbers.

When homes are sold, trucks are often needed to move furniture and other items.

March’s decrease brought the annual sales rate to 878,000 from a revised 906,000 in February. Initially, February sales were at an 875,000-unit pace. The March level was in line with analysts' expectations, Bloomberg said.

Analysts also said despite March’s decrease, low mortgage rates should keep home sales at strong levels in 2002.

By region, sales fell 19.3% in the Midwest to an annual pace of 134,000 last month, declined 4.4% in the Northeast to an annual rate of 65,000, and dropped 0.2% in the South to an annual rate of 431,000. In the West, sales increased 3.3% to 248,000 homes at an annual rate.

In related news, applications to purchase a home rose 4.2% for the week that ended Friday to 351.6, the highest in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association of America said.

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