The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released the Existing Home Sales figures for January 2008 which were down 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units in January from an upwardly revised level of 4.91 million in December 2007, and were 23.4% below the 6.44 million unit mark in January 2007.
Existing Home inventory rose 5.5% in January to 4.19 million which is a 10.3 month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 9.7 month supply in December.
This follows downward numbers in both Pending Home Sales and New Home Sales. A Pending home sale occurs when the sales contract is signed. When the house’s sale is finalized, the home counts as an Existing Home Sale. Pending Home Sales lead Existing Home Sales by a month or two. New Home Sales are also counted when the sales contract is signed.
Here are charts showing Existing Home Sales as compared to Pending Home Sales and New Home Sales.
When there are less than 6 months supply on the market, it is generally considered a buyers market. Existing Home Inventory typically increases in the spring. Calculated Risk has a good chart on this. He expects that we will cross the 12 month supply mark this year. 
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