Home sales slide continues

[homeless]

WSJ:

"Sales of existing homes set a record for a fifth straight year in 2005, even though the year ended on a weaker note with three straight monthly declines, sending another signal that the nation's housing boom is beginning to cool.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes and condominiums dropped by 5.7% in December compared to the sales pace in November.

It marked the third consecutive monthly decline, something that has not occurred in more than three years.

Sales declined in December even as mortgage rates moved slightly lower. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 6.27% last month, down from 6.33% in November, according to Freddie Mac. A survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association showed that mortgage applications increased 7.7% last week, but economists attributed much of that gain to seasonal factors."