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US new-home sales dive

Washington - US new-home sales dived in March, the second month in a row of slower sales, according to official data released on Wednesday, adding to signs of weakness in the housing market.

New single-family houses were sold at a rate of 384 000 units annually in March, from February's revised rate of 449 000 units, the Commerce Department said.

It was the steepest monthly decline since last July. Analysts on average estimated the sales pace increased to 455 000.

Sales were down 13.3% from a year ago.

New-home sales are a small part of the US housing market, where recovery is stalling after a rise in mortgage interest rates last year and a brutal winter in the first months of 2014.

The supply of houses on the market jumped 20% in March to a six months' supply at the current sales rate, compared with five months in February.

The median sales price of new houses sold in March was $290 000, up 11.5% from February and 12.6% from a year ago.

"At least some rebound in sales and a drop in prices is a decent bet for April, but our core view is that the housing market has stalled and won't contribute to GDP growth this year," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

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