NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - New home sales jumped 9.4 percent in February, the government reported Thursday, rebounding from the previous month's decline and topping economists' estimates.

Sales of new one-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 1.23 million in February from a revised 1.12 million in January, the Commerce Department said.

The increased rate beats projections from economists, who had estimated that new home sales would come in at about 1.15 million in February, according to a consensus compiled by Briefing.com.

Richard Yamarone, director of economic research for Argus Research, had projected lower sales because he figured buyers wouldn't be home-hunting during a month when the eastern states were pounded by blizzards and the western states were hit by torrential rains.

"I had a low forecast for February simply because we had terrible weather," said Yamarone. "Yet, we still managed to have this kind of activity. So this is very encouraging for housing. Had it not been for the inclement weather, we would have had a stronger posting."

Home buyers are rushing to buy homes before mortgage rates increase, according to Wachovia chief economist John Silvia, former chief economist for Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and former senior economist for Senate Joint Economic Committee.

"A lot of people are figuring out the rates are going up and this is their last chance to get in there and buy homes," said Silvia.

The Federal Reserve raised its short-term rate target a quarter point to 2.75 percent Tuesday, its seventh consecutive increase. Silvia said the FOMC increases impact mortgage loan rates.

The increase in home sales also reflects the fact that "the economy still has lots of legs," said Silvia.

"There's got to be a lot of people out there with the cash for a deposit," said Silvia.

The median price of new houses sold in February rose more than 15 percent to a record $230,700, the Commerce Department said.