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WASHINGTON (AP) - Sales of new homes, helped by better weather, posted a modest increase in March, but the gain was less than expected and did not dispel concerns about continuing troubles in the housing industry.
The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that new single-family home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 858,000 units in March, an increase of 2.6 percent from February, which had been the slowest sales pace in nearly seven years.
The March improvement was half what analysts had forecast and left the sales pace 23.5 percent lower than a year ago as the housing industry continues a painful adjustment after a boom period in which sales of new and existing homes set records for five straight years.
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