US existing home sales for January 5.38M vs. 5.60m expected

Prior month 5.56M vs 5.57M

The US existing home sales came in weaker than expected at 5.38M vs 5.60M expected. The MoM change was -3.2% vs 0.5% expected. A weak start to 2018.

• supply of homes for resale at 3.4 months versus 3.2 months
• December home resales revised to 5.56 million from 5.57
• median price $240,500 vs $246,500 last month. +5.8% YoY
• average price $282,100 vs $288,300 last month, +4.7% YoY
• 1st time buyers 29% versus 33% a year ago. 1st time buyers are being squeezed out by higher prices and now higher mortgage rates.
• Days on the market is 42 days up from 40 days last month but down from 50 days a year ago

The sharp fall is a bit worrisome but supply remains a problem and the sales pace still remains more toward the highs. There is little reaction to the data.