Washington, Jumada I 06, 1436, Feb. 25, 2015, SPA-Sales of new U.S. homes fell slightly in January, the government reported Wednesday, indicating that strong job gains and relatively low mortgage rates have not sparked an improvement in the housing market. The Commerce Department said sales of new homes fell 0.2 percent last month to an annual rate of 481,000 units. December’s sales pace of 482,000 was the highest level since June 2008. New homes account for about 9 percent of all U.S. home sales. Despite the small decline, the January new-home sales rate was 5.3 percent above a year ago, when severe winter weather caused home-buying to stall. The supply of new houses available on the market rose 1.4 percent in January to 218,000, the highest since March 2010. But inventories still remain less than half of the levels seen at the height of the housing boom in 2006. With new-home sales weak, builders have concentrated on more expensive homes, pushing up the median sales price 9 percent from January 2014. Housing activity has remained stagnant since the market weakened in the second half of 2013, with tight home inventories and higher prices sidelining many first-time buyers. Still, many economists expect the recent hiring surge to help home sales this year. --SPA 20:59 LOCAL TIME 17:59 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w