US existing home sales to moderate after recent gains

Resale activity remained surprisingly resilient during the winter months despite the unusually harsh temperatures. 

In our view, this is confirmation of the favorable fundamentals which include a sharp pickup in household formations, lower mortgage rates and gradually easing lending standards for mortgages. 

However, the inventory situation in the resale market is quite tight and this should limit upside for existing home sales. Thus a modest pullback is expected in April to 5.1mln units, down from 5.19mln in March.

"We expect the positive fundamentals to continue to support new home sales and construction activity", says Societe Generale.