January Existing Home Sales Fall

Washington, DC, Feb. 26, 2010--Home and condo resales in the U.S. fell 7.2% in January to an annual rate of 5.05 million, the lowest in seven months, the National Association of Realtors reported Friday.

Sales of existing homes have fallen two consecutive months after rising steadily through the fall on the back of a federal tax break for first-time home buyers.

"It's not good news," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "There is rising concern about the strength of the housing recovery." Inventories of unsold homes fell 0.5% to 3.265 million, or 7.8 months of supply at the current sales pace.