U.S. Existing Home Sales Fall More Than Expected In January

(RTTNews) - Existing home sales in the U.S. fell by more than anticipated in the month of January, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Monday.

NAR said existing home sales tumbled 4.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.82 million in January from an upwardly revised 5.07 million in December.

Economists had expected existing home sales to fall to a rate of 4.95 million from the 5.04 million originally reported for the previous month.

With the bigger than expected decrease, existing home sales fell to their lowest rate since hitting 4.75 million last April.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said, "January housing data can be volatile because of seasonal influences, but low housing supply and the ongoing rise in home prices above the pace of inflation appeared to slow sales despite interest rates remaining near historic lows

"Realtors are reporting that low rates are attracting potential buyers, but the lack of new and affordable listings is leading some to delay decisions," he added.

The report said there were 1.87 million existing homes available for sale at the end of January, up 0.5 percent from 1.86 million at the end of December but down 0.5 percent from 1.88 million a year ago.

The unsold inventory in January represents 4.7 months of supply at the current sales pace compared to 4.4 months in December.

Additionally, the median existing home price was $199,600 in January, down 4.1 percent from $208,200 in December but up 6.2 percent from $187,900 in the same month last year.

NAR is scheduled to release a separate report on pending home sales in January on Friday, with economists expecting a 2.0 percent increase.

A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.