 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.3 R) E9 m8 h9 P0 r0 K1 B
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The 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.
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/ n& f: z1 v5 B4 N& q# BThe 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.& s Z7 b) P% t1 @- ~! r- q9 g( |
" i) w7 q- W; N2 ^0 ~; m3 W) ?0 iBuilders 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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