New-home sales fall to 17-year low

Sales of new homes fell 8.5% to a 17-year low in March, as U.S. home builders slashed prices in response to sagging demand, according to a report by the Department of Commerce. The number of new homes sold fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 526,000, down 37% from the 830,000 new homes that were sold in March 2007, marking the weakest rate since October 1991. February's sales pace was also revised down to 575,000, from 590,000. The inventory of unsold homes fell 1.1% to 468,000, which at the current level of sales would take 11 months to sell, up from February's 10.2 months' supply. The median sales price of new homes sold in March was $227,600, down 13% from a median price of $262,600 in the year-ago period. In other economic data, orders for durable goods fell 0.3% last month to a seasonally adjusted $212.2 billion, according to the Commerce Department. Durable goods, which are manufactured goods designed to last at least three years, fell 0.9% in February, revised downward from a previously estimated 1.1% drop. In another report, initial claims for unemployment benefits fell 33,000 to 342,000 in the one-week period ended April 19, according to data from the Department of Labor. The four-week average of new jobless claims also fell last week to 369,500, from 376,750.