The sales rate of new homes surged by nearly ten percent in January, reaching a 468,000-unit pace that matched the highest level since July 2008. Economists are skeptical of the data, however, as monthly readings of new home sales are volatile, and other housing market metrics have declined since winter began.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes leapt to a 66-month high in January, according to a February 26 report from the Commerce Department. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate grew 9.6 percent to a 468,000-unit pace, the highest since July 2008.

The monthly growth could indicate a better – or at least less-bad – winter than other metrics have shown, as homebuilder confidence and new home construction have declined in recent weeks. New home sales tend to be volatile on a monthly basis, however, and the Commerce Department's report has a built-in margin of error that allows for a fluctuation of nearly 18 percent in the month-to-month data.

"In the best of months, the new home sales report is not the most reliable statistic, and in winter months it is even less reliable, so it is hard to discern much of a signal," Michael Feroli, an economist at JPMorgan, told Reuters.

December's sales were revised up to a 427,000-unit pace from the previously reported 414,000-unit rate, and new home sales rose 2.2 percent compared with January 2013. For all of 2013, sales were the highest since 2008. New home sales constitute about 9.2 percent of the overall housing market.

The supply of new houses on the market in January was unchanged at 184,000 units, and the median price of a new home last month rose 3.4 percent to $260,100 from January 2013. At January's sales pace, it would take 4.7 months to clear the supply of houses on the market, the fewest months since June. New home inventory was down from 5.2 months in December. A supply of 6.0 months is normally considered a healthy balance between supply and demand.