 鲜花( 34)  鸡蛋( 5)
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Sales of new American homes plunged in February to the fewest on records dating back nearly half a century, a dismal sign for an already-weak housing market.* R$ E- e& v% o. J! |6 ]
y; J5 ?3 K# p* q. s2 tThe Commerce Department said Wednesday new home sales fell 16.9 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 250,000 homes. It's the third straight monthly decline and far below the 700,000-a-year pace that economists view as healthy.$ ]3 [7 W" u/ u& c+ B8 L
/ q% [0 ]" p/ @; S {4 i% R6 E5 jThe median price of a new home dropped nearly 14 per cent to $202,100, the lowest since December 2003. New home prices are now 30 percent higher than of those being resold.0 ^9 B9 s4 A, J3 f) D3 P
+ U4 J- m4 {) A. x. qBuilders have struggled to compete with a wave of foreclosures that has lowered the price of previously occupied homes. High unemployment, tight credit and uncertainty over prices have also kept many potential buyers from making purchases. |
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