Yesterday the Commerce Department reported that new home sales fell 16.9% from January, which was a shock to analysts who had predicted a gain. More bad news to the real estate industry.
The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000 homes sold marks the slowest pace recorded since the data series began in the 1960s.
Median sale prices fell 13.9 percent, which represents the sharpest one-month drop on record.
Wednesday's numbers for February were coupled with an upward revision in January's pace from 284,000 to 301,000 homes sold.
Overall, though, the bitter news seems only cement a fast darkening picture of the housing market, and it follows closely on the heels of a disappointing 9.6 percent drop in existing home sales reported earlier this week.