Sales of previously owned homes fell in January, although a decline in home prices and mortgage rates could bode well for a pickup this spring, the Wall Street Journal reported. Sales fell 1.2 percent in January from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. January marked the third consecutive month of declining sales, and last month’s 4.94 million home sales were the lowest since November 2015. Compared with a year earlier, sales in January declined 8.5 percent. Interest rates were on the rise for most of 2018, but cooled at the turn of the year. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 4.35 percent the week ended Feb. 21, down from 4.94 percent in mid-November, according to Freddie Mac. Inventories of existing homes for sale rose 3.9 percent to 1.59 million in January. At 3.9 months’ worth of supply, inventories were up slightly from 3.7 months in December, the realtors’ group said.
