Home Sales Decline for 2nd Month in Row

New-home sales, hurt by a slump in the Northeast, fell for the second consecutive month in February, declining by 2.7%, the Commerce Department reported Monday.

It said new single-family home sales, which dropped 8.6% in January, edged down further last month to an annual sales pace of 680,000 units, the slowest rate since last August. The February sales decline was accompanied by a 3.6% drop in the median price of a new home, to $96,300.