Dive Brief:

• Two Bank of American Merrill Lynch analysts say in a note to clients that they think maybe the Federal Reserve is OK with home sales declining as the bank scales back its recession-fighting purchase of securities.
• Interest rates on mortgages have been creeping up as the Fed pours less money into the economy by buying government paper, and Chairwoman Janet Yellen said last week that the scaling back of buying would stay on schedule.
• Justin Borst and Chris Flanagan wrote that home sales could recover, but they do not see any evidence for expecting that.

Dive Insight:

Sales of new single-family homes hit a five-month low in February, according to federal data. The annual sales total at the February pace would be 440,000 houses, which was 3.3% below January.