Mortgage rates

With few clues coming from Federal Reserve officials about their next moves, the 30-year average dropped for a fourth straight week, according to Freddie Mac's latest survey.

Lower mortgage rates during the early part of the month, along with fewer properties for sale helped to drive values higher.

Redfin's seasonally-adjusted demand measure was still down by 24% on a year-over-year basis, but it's outpacing dwindling supply, which is slowing sales.

However, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield pushed back up 15 basis points from a week ago as the markets settle following the recent bank failures.

The year-over-year drop in January stemmed primarily from loans where a payment had not been made in at least 120 days but shorter-term arrears were higher during the same period.

The National Association of Realtors' index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes increased 0.8% last month to 83.2.

Home prices nationally fell 0.2% from December, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

The primary cause is agency put-backs and fixing the problems is difficult in a rising rate environment.

The economic situation is more like what happened during the mid-'80s thrift crisis than the 2008 downturn, said Chief Economist Doug Duncan.

Bond market investors continue to drive down the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, even after short-term rates were boosted 25 basis points on Wednesday.