Sales slipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million, from 4.95 million in February.
Their full-year 2012 seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of sales was between 14 and 14.5 million units.
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The increase in the seasonally adjusted annual rate for March was fueled by a surge in apartment construction.
The Commerce Department said Wednesday that builders started work at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890, 000 homes last month.
That put the closely-watched Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales at 15 million vehicles, the highest rate since February 2008.
On a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), February sales are estimated at about 15.5 million units by General Motors and Chrysler.
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That would push the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales to 15 million vehicles, the highest rate since February 2008.
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The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in November was 13.6 million units, up from 12.28 million in November 2010, according to Autodata.
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The National Association of Realtors also reported that existing-home sales in December rose 6.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.47 million units.
In March housing starts clocked a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.036 million, nearly 47% higher than a year earlier, according to the Commerce Department.
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And September housing starts were up 15 percent from August, exceeding expectations and climbing to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872, 000 units, Shafer points out.
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The good news was, employee pricing drove the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate for U.S. auto sales to a record exceeding 20 million in July 2005.
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On Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported new home sales for June declining by 8.4 percent from May, making for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 350, 000.
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The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 3.7 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.187 million units.
The Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of sales for June will come in at 13.9 million light vehicles, according to Edmunds.com, which monitors actual sales transactions from dealerships.
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The Commerce Department said single family homes and apartments were started at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 872, 000 in September, which was up 15% from the previous month.
Sales of existing homes inched up 0.4% in January from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.92 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
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On average, the economists now predict GDP will grow 2.6% in the current quarter at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, up from the 2.4% growth they projected in last month's survey.
The U.S. Commerce Department said that housing starts rose 1.7% in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.09 million houses and apartments, the best number in nearly 20 years.
The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales plunged 27.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.8 million units in July from a downwardly revised 5.3 million in June.
TrueCar.com predicted earlier this week the closely watched Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate for U.S. auto sales for February would be about 15.7 million cars and trucks, a big improvement from 14.5 million in February 2012.
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Car-shopping website Edmunds.com estimates Hurricane Sandy cost 30, 000 vehicle sales in October, reducing the closely-monitored Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of car sales to 14.3 million vehicles from the pre-storm forecasted 14.8 million vehicles.
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Separately, data showed Wednesday that housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 584, 000 in November at the fastest rate since May, and building permits increased at their fastest clip since November 2008.
Continuing on a recent positive trend, as of June 2012, pending home sales in the U.S., on average, increased by 9.5% (seasonally adjusted) and 8.4% (not seasonally adjusted) respectively on a year-over-year basis with increases experienced across all four regions, with the slight exception of the West on a seasonally adjusted annual rate basis, of the country.
As a result of U.S. housing starts declining from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.1 million units in February 2008 to just 505, 000 units in March 2009, as well as the large decline in remodeling activity over the same period, MLWF industry prices, shipments, revenues, and profits declined substantially, as did imports from China and other countries.
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The Commerce Department said new-home sales fell 7.3% month-on-month to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 369, 000 units.
The Commerce Department said U.S. builders began building new homes at the fastest pace since mid-2008 in March, a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 1.04 million homes.
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In economic news, the Commerce Department is reporting a 3.3 percent increase in new home sales in April, to a seasonally adjusted 343, 000 annual rate. economists were expecting a reading of 335, 000.
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