Construction workers continue work on a new subdivision of homes in San Marcos, California
Construction workers continue work on a new subdivision of homes in San Marcos, Calif. REUTERS

A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the median new home price rose in March, not in February.

New home sales in the U.S. totaled 440,000 units, compared to a Wall Street estimate of 445,000. The number of new houses sold in February declined 3.3 percent from January, the government said on Tuesday.

The median new home price rose 0.4 percent to $261,800 in February, while the supply of new homes rose to 5.2 months from five months in January.

New homes are selling at a 1.1 percent lower rate compared to a year ago, the government report said.