Highlights
Sales of existing homes slowed slightly in February but follow an extremely strong and upwardly revised January. Sales slipped 0.9 percent last month to a 4.59 million annual rate. January is revised 13,000 higher to 4.63 million for a 5.7 percent gain.

Good news for February is that prices firmed, up 1.3 percent to a median $156,600 which follows a steep slide in January of 4.7 percent. The pickup in January sales appears to have encouraged prospective sellers to put their homes on the market as supply rose to 6.4 months at the current sales rate, not too heavy but compared to 6.0 months in January and against 8.6 months a year ago. Distressed sales remain heavy at 34 percent but are down slightly from the 35 percent rate in January. All cash transactions rose two percentage points to 33 percent.

The Dow is moving lower following today's report which however continues to signal recovery for the housing sector. Taken together, January and February is the best start to the year since 2007. Next data on the sector will be price data in tomorrow's FHFA report.

Market Consensus before announcement
Existing home sales rose 4.3 percent in January to a 4.57 million annual rate. This is a 20-month high. The median price fell a steep 4.6 percent in the month to $154,700. The January report included revisions to seasonal adjustments that turned an initial 5.0 percent gain in December into a 0.5 percent decline. November was revised only slightly lower. The gain in sales took down supply which was 6.1 months at the January sales rate. This was the lowest level of inventory of the economic recovery. But one area of concern is the high share of distressed sales-35 percent versus 32 percent in December.

2012 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/20 2/22 3/21 4/19 5/22 6/21 7/19 8/22 9/19 10/19 11/19 12/20 Release For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov