Maybe the end of winter weather will bring with it a thaw in the housing market. The latest news gives some hope, at least with respect to home sales and house prices. New home sales increased 7.8 percent in February, to an annual rate of 539,000, the strongest sales pace since February 2008. The housing market appears to have worked off most of the excesses from the boom. Inventories of new homes for sale remain low, and the months’ supply of new homes dipped below 5 months.