AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
Byline: KIRK SHINKLE
A slew of disappointing reports Tuesday for housing, factories and consumer sentiment offset a solid revision to fourth-quarter growth.
Existing-home sales hit a two-year low, while consumer optimism fell to a three-month trough. Chicago-area factories felt the sting of a weak auto sector.
Home resales fell for a fifth straight month in January to a 6.56 million annualized rate, led by big declines in the frothy condo market, said the National Association of Realtors.
That follows Monday's report of a 5% drop in new-home sales.
Such weakness, despite the warmest January weather in more than a century, pushed inventories of unsold homes to record levels.
Existing-home prices still posted double-digit gains vs. a year earlier, but most analysts expect that to cool in the coming months.