The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that home sales rose in an unseasonably warm January to mark a second month of rising activity and softening prices, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Wednesday. A Canadian Press dispatch to The Globe says that January sales were up 3.7 per cent from a month earlier after seasonal adjustments, and up 22 per cent from a year ago when sales were particularly soft. The increase added to the 8.7-per-cent seasonally adjusted jump in December activity from a month earlier. The rise in sales is helping tighten market conditions, though areas with the highest sales gains are still seeing prices trend lower. Rising activity and soft prices is mostly an Ontario and B.C. story, Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Rishi Sondhi said in a note. "Our take on this dichotomy is that sellers capitulated on their asking price to move their homes, as conditions in these markets previously favoured buyers," he said. The rise in sales, helped by the weather and falling bond yields, are moving past TD's expectations, Mr. Sondhi said. "While we had expected Canadian home sales to increase in the first quarter, they are on track to exceed our forecast by a considerable margin."