Sales of new single-family homes in February were 2.2 percent below the revised January rate and 13 percent below the February 2009 estimate, according to estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 308,000, down from the January rate of 315,000 and the February 2009 rate of 354,000.

The news comes on the heels of a report from the National Association of Realtors that existing home sales slipped 0.6 percent in February from January’s rate.

This is the fourth consecutive month that new home sales have decreased since peaking during 2009 at 420,000 in October. February’s decline, however, was the smallest decrease month-to-month since October.

New home sales declined from January sales in the Midwest, Northeast and South regions by 18 percent, 20 percent and 4.6 percent respectively. The West posted a 20.8 percent increase. The Midwest was down 18 percent from February 2009, and the South was down 29.5 percent, but the Northeast was unchanged and the West was up 34.8 percent.

The average sales price of new homes sold in February was $282,600. The seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of February was 236,000.

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