New Home Sales Rise 9.4% in February

March 24, 2005 10:00 AM, EST

The number of new home sales rose 9.4% in February to an annual rate of 1.226 million, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

Analysts said job growth and the prospect of rising mortgage rates spurred the increase, Bloomberg News reported. January sales were 1.121 million, a six-month low.

Sales of existing home sales fell in February, according to a report by the National Association of Realtors released Wednesday.

New home sales account for 15% of residential real estate sales in the U.S.