Concerns about the housing market's potential for rebound rose as the sales of previously owned houses unexpectedly slumped consecutively for the second month.

The National Association of Realtors reported a fall of 7.2% in the sales of existing houses, townhouses, condominiums and cooperatives.

Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun said that though the sales were higher at 11.5% but the monthly trend was not encouraging.

It is expected that more people will take advantage of a recently renewed tax credit for first-time home buyers before it expires in April.

The U. S. economy grew faster than predicted in the fourth quarter. The gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, rose at a 5.9% annually, instead of 5.7%, as was estimated by the Commerce Department.

"The housing sales numbers are weak because we have a weak labor market, and when that improves we'll see people buying and selling homes", said Patrick Newport, an Economist at IHS Global Insight.

Analysts attribute the decline to the hangover effect from the original $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.