Home Sales Drop as Lack of Supply Drives Up Prices: Economy

Broad-based price increases put more properties out of reach for American homebuyers in January, becoming the latest hurdle preventing a more robust recovery in residential real estate.

Purchases of existing houses dropped 4.9 percent from December to a 4.82 million annualized rate, the least since April, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Monday in Washington. The median cost of a previously owned home climbed 6.2 percent compared with January 2014 as the number of dwellings on the market dropped.