US existing home sales fall 4.9% in January

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Existing home sales in the US dropped 4.9% in January on a monthly basis, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Friday.

The trade association said the number of existing home sales totaled 4.08 million in January, down from 4.29 million in December.

The number of sales increased 2.9% in December.

"Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve,” said NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun. "When combined with elevated home prices, housing affordability remains a major challenge."