BMO Capital Markets: Third consecutive decline in US existing home sales

BMO Capital Markets analysis team notes that the US existing home sales posted its third decline in a row as they unexpectedly fell in January and were down by1.2% to 4.94 mln units to their lowest level since Nov 2015.

Key Quotes

“There is a bit of a light shimmering on the horizon. With a patient Fed, mortgage rates shouldn’t be rising markedly.”

“They’re already down 60 bps from their recent highs. And the latest survey of homebuilders was more upbeat.....citing improved sales and traffic in February.”

“Meantime, the data on the ground clearly show that the economy stumbled around the turn of the year, keeping the central bank cautious.”