Sales of New U.S. Homes Fell 16.6 percent In January 2007.

The monthly decline was the sharpest in 13 years showing continued weakness in the unsteady housing sector

According to the Commerce Department new single-family home sales fell to an annualized rate of 937,000 units from an upwardly revised rate of 1.123 million units in December of 2006.

In the Northeast, new home sales fell 18.7 percent while they decreased 8.1 percent in the Midwest and 9.7 percent in the South. The West saw the sharpest decline in new home sales with a 37.4 percent drop.