BusinessWeek Online - It looks like houses were on far fewer holiday shopping lists in December. Witness the sharp drop in the headline figure for U.S. existing-home sales in the month, released Jan. 25. The weak December report, alongside declines in housing starts and construction employment for the month -- and an expected drop in December new-home sales -- raises the stakes for January's housing statistics. Slack in December sales is more significant than weakness in construction, as sales may not be as sensitive to weather.
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December's Story for Housing (BusinessWeek Online) 
