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Sales tumbled nearly 17 percent in February to 250,000 units, the Commerce Department said, marking the lowest total since at least 1963, when records were first kept.</p>
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At that rate it would take almost nine months for the all the homes on the US market to be sold.</p>
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The biggest slowdown in turnover was seen in the country's populous northeast, with sales down 57 percent from January.</p>
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The broader data however contained what could be a slight reprieve for struggling homeowners.</p>
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The fall was subject to a statistical error of plus or minus 19.1 percent.</p>
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