A look at some recent housing numbers:

• Sales of new homes fell unexpectedly to their lowest point on record in February. The median sales price, however, rose 5 percent from a year earlier to $220,500.

• Sales of previously occupied homes fell for a third straight month in February, to the lowest point since July, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median sales price fell almost 2 percent from a year ago to $165,100.

• The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.3 percent from November to December, but it remains 3 percent below the level of December 2008.

• The number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in February grew 6 percent from the year-ago level, the smallest annual increase in four years, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

• The Obama administration's loan modification program had helped about 170,000 homeowners out of 1.1 million who have started the program since last year.

• The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 5.01 percent this week from 4.91 percent a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. The Federal Reserve is wrapping up its $1.25 trillion mortgage-buying program at the end of the month, and analysts expect the central bank's exit to boost rates.