Sales of new homes plunged 18.2% in February as severe winter weather in many parts of the country and a lack of supply took a toll on the housing industry.
Sales of single-family homes dropped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 775,000 last month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday, the slowest sales pace since May of last year.
The median price of a new home sold in February was $349,400, up 5.3% from a year ago.
Severe winter storms also had an impact on the sale of existing homes, which declined 6.5% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.22 million units.
