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February new home sales fell to the slowest pace on record, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.

Sales plunged 16.9% to a 250,000 annual pace, from a revised 301,000 in January that was well over the 284,000 originally reported.

Economists had forecast the rate to rise to a 290,000-unit pace, Bloomberg reported.

The median price fell 8.9% from the same month in 2010.

Sales fell in all four regions, led by a 57% plunge in the Northeast. They declined 28% in the Midwest, 15% in the West and 6.3% in the South.

New home sales account for about 15% of residential real estate sales.

Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies that haul building materials and dry van freight carriers that haul household appliances and furniture.