Resales Down 3rd Month in a Row

In yet another sign the housing market is cooling, existing-home sales fell 5.7% in December to an annualized rate of 6.6 million units, according to figures released by the National Association of Realtors.Compared with their level a year earlier, resales fell 3.1%. Still, resales set a record in 2005 with 7.07 million units sold. In 2004 and 2003 home sales totaled 6.78 million and 6.18 million units, respectively. "The housing market is indeed finally cooling after overheating earlier this year," said Stephen Stanley, chief economist for RBS Greenwich Capital. ".... Given the solid economic fundamentals (strong job and income growth and a favorable pace of household formation) and the likelihood of continued affordable mortgage rates, we believe that housing demand will return to a pace that is well off 2005's clip but still quite robust by historical standards."