Home Sales Down But Higher Than a Year Ago

Existing home sales fell in January but are above year-ago levels and prices show signs of stability, NAR says.  Existing single family, townhome, condominium and co-op sales dropped 7.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million units in January from a revised 5.44 million in December.  Compared to January 2009, sales were 11.5 percent higher.  "Most of the completed deals in January were based on contracts in November and December, "says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.  "People who got into the market after the home buyer tax credit was extended in November have only recently started to offer contracts, so it will take a couple of months to close those sales.  Still, the latest monthly sales decline is not encouraging, and it raises concern about the strength of the recovery... Read more.