US Existing-Home Sales Drop Back Again With Mortgage Rates at 7%
- January contract closings fell 4.9%, dragged by West and South
- Despite inventory increasing, home prices are still rising
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Sales of existing US homes fell last month for the first time since September, as the combination of high mortgage rates and prices sets a grim backdrop heading into the crucial spring selling season.
Contract closings in January decreased 4.9% to an annualized rate of 4.08 million, data released Friday by the National Association of Realtors show. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 4.13 million.