New home sales in the United States rose by 4.7 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000 units, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday.

The new home sales was much better than the 323,000 units that analysts had expected.

The February sales pace was down 41.1 percent compared with February 2008.

The median price of a new home, a typical market price where half of new homes are sold for more and half sold for less, dropped to 200,900 dollars, down a record 18.1 percent compared with February 2008. This is the lowest median prices since 2003.

In a separate report issued Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported that orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods rose unexpectedly in February after six straight months of decline.

The 3.4 percent increase in orders for durable goods, big-ticket items expected to last at least three years, was much better than the 2 percent decrease that had been expected.

U.S. President Barack Obama assured Americans on Tuesday that there were "signs of progress" toward recovery, while pleaded for more time and patience.

"We will recover from this recession," Obama said at a prime-time news conference, the second he has held since taking office in January. "But it will take time, it will take patience."

(Xinhua News Agency March 26, 2009)