House Hunting

Home sales eased for the 12th straight month in 1/23, the longest streak of monthly declines since 1999 when data collection began. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4 million, from 4.03 million in December, and 4.1 million in November. The increasingly tiny declines suggest the sales bottom is here or fast approaching. Prices rose 1.3% Y-o-Y, the smallest rise since 2/12. Y-o-Y prices will soon decline.