Implode-o-Meter News - Existing-Home Sales Unexpectedly Rise; Confidence Unexpectedly Falls

The National Association of Realtors said home resales increased 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.47 million units, the highest level since July. Last month's sales pace was also the second-highest since 2007.
Sales rose strongly in the Northeast, despite a major snowstorm in late January, and were also up in the Midwest. Economists had expected home resales to decrease 2.9 percent to a pace of 5.32 million units last month.

Home resales were up 11 percent from a year ago, the largest year-on-year gain since July 2013.

A separate report showed that the Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 5.7 percent in December on a year-over-year basis, matching the increase in the previous month.
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Households' short-term outlook grew more pessimistic this month. Consumers were apprehensive about business conditions, their personal financial situations, and to a lesser degree, labor market prospects, the Conference Board said.

The housing sector continues to be supported by a tightening labor market, which is starting to push up wage growth, improving the formation of new households. First-time buyers accounted for 32 percent of existing-home sales in January, an increase from 28 percent during the same period last year.

So all these pessimistic households are rushing out to buy houses? Rather it looks like this is more a story of the economy continuing to be bifurcated into "haves" and "have nots" -- the latter of which are getting the few good jobs, and are able to buy the few houses that are for sale, while they are simultaneously (along with the have-nots) quite cognizant of the weak underpinnings of the economy.

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Existing-Home Sales Unexpectedly Rise; Confidence Unexpectedly Falls