Resales Up -- but Don't Get Excited

Existing-home sales rose in January to 5.69 million units, their highest level in seven months, according to new figures released by the National Association of Realtors.Compared with December's level, sales rose 3.5%, but they fell 4.2% from that of the same month last year. National Association of Realtors chief economist David Lereah cautioned that the industry should not overreact to the sales gain. "Although we're expecting existing-home sales to gradually rise this year, and buyers are responding to the price correction, some unusually warm weather helped boost sales in January." The 5.69 million figure excludes condominium and cooperative sales, which fell slightly to 767,000 units in January from the level of a year earlier. Compared with their level in January 2006, condo and co-op sales slid 5.7%.