U.S. New Home Sales Spike 7.8 Percent in February, Biggest Gain in 7 Years

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According to new data by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Census Bureau, sales of newly built, single-family homes in the U.S. rose 7.8 percent in February 2015 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000 units from an upwardly revised January reading. This is the highest sales pace since February 2008.

"Today's numbers are a great start to the spring buying season," said Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Blue Springs, Mo. "Hopefully, this is an indicator of how the rest of the year will fare."

"Most sales activity continues to be among existing home owners who are trading up to new construction and taking advantage of low mortgage rates," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "First-time home buyers remain absent from the market, restricted by tight lending conditions."

The inventory of new homes for sale was at 210,000 in February, which is a 4.7-month supply at the current sales pace.

Regionally, new home sales increased 152.9 percent in the Northeast and 10.1 percent in the South. Sales dropped 6 percent in the West and 12.9 percent in the Midwest.