WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in January, with realtors blaming low housing inventory.
The pending home sales index dropped 0.8% last month to 70.9, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast contracts, which become sales after a month or two, rising 1.3%.
Contracts fell in the Northeast and the densely populated South. They rose in the Midwest and West regions.
Pending home sales fell 0.4% from a year earlier.
“With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ago would qualify at today’s lower rates,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist. “Unless housing supply increases, these additional potential buyers becoming active in the market could simply push up home prices.”
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
