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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.

The Trump administration’s pick to help overhaul the way many Americans finance their home purchases told Congress on Thursday he would work to preserve the popular 30-year mortgage, a product he has criticized in the past, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mark Calabria, speaking at his confirmation hearing yesterday before the Senate Banking Committee, said, “It is indeed possible for us to have a well capitalized, strong system that preserves the 30-year mortgage.” The nominee also said that he would scrutinize big banks if confirmed, using his seat on a panel of regulators, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, to raise concerns about risks the largest firms pose to the financial system. A critic of big banks, Calabria said he disagreed with the 2008 federal bailout plan known as TARP. The Senate panel is considering the nomination of Calabria to lead the government’s oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage-finance companies guarantee roughly half of U.S. home loans and have been under government control since the financial crisis.

The Trump administration’s pick to help overhaul the way many Americans finance their home purchases is expected to face questions about the future of the popular 30-year mortgage at his Senate confirmation hearing today, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Senate Banking Committee is considering the nomination of Mark Calabria to head the government’s oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The mortgage-finance companies guarantee roughly half of U.S. home loans and have been under government control since the financial crisis. If confirmed, Calabria would play a pivotal role as head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency in making changes to the companies. Calabria, a libertarian economist and senior aide to Vice President Mike Pence, is expected to face questions from lawmakers over his past calls for modifying the foundations of the U.S. mortgage market. While working at the libertarian think tank the Cato Institute from 2009 to 2017, Calabria advocated for curtailing government support for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages. These account for approximately 90 percent of new home loans, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data. He also called for banks to hold more of the loans they originate rather than selling them to Fannie, Freddie and other financing entities.