According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), resales of U.S. homes and condominiums slipped 7.2% during January. This drop brought the seasonally adjusted annual rate to 5.05 million, which was the lowest in seven months. January's drop marks the second-straight month of drops, following up December's record plunge of 16.2%.

A spokesman for NAR noted that this is "not good news. ... There is rising concern about the strength of the housing recovery." The group is holding out hope that the Spring will be better, as the latest tax break will expire and potential job growth could help push home sales higher. The good news is that the pace of sales in January outpaced those from a year earlier by 11.5%. The current inventory of unsold homes stands at a nearly 8-month supply at the current sales pace.

Existing homes are starting to move again. Last month, home resales hit their highest level in more than two years, thrashing expectations. The 9.4% increase in home resales -- which entails a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.57 million -- is attributed largely to the deadline for the first-time home buyer tax credit.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the annualized, seasonally adjusted rate is up from the 5.1 million in August and far ahead of the 5.35 million expected for September (based on economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters).

There are all kinds of mixed signals coming in on the housing market. The good news is that home resales rose 2.9% in April to an annual rate of 4.68 million units. The Federal Open Market Committee said that the market "might be approaching a trough." The bad news is that housing inventory keeps rising. Last month it was rose by 8.8% with 3.97 million existing homes for sale, amounting to a 10.2 months supply.