Blame it on the housing<\/a> shortage: Existing-home sales posted their largest declines on an annual basis in more than three years, the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae reported Wednesday. All major regions of the U.S. saw monthly and annual sales decline in January.<\/p>\n \u201cThe utter lack of sufficient housing supply and its influence on home prices muted overall sales activity in much of the U.S. last month,\u201d says Lawrence Yun, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cWhile the good news is that REALTORS\u00ae in most areas are saying buyer traffic is even stronger than the beginning of last year, sales failed to follow course and far lagged last January\u2019s pace. It\u2019s very clear that too many markets right now are becoming less affordable and desperately need more new listings<\/a> to clam the speedy price growth.\u201d<\/p>\n Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions for single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and co-ops, dropped 3.2 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million, NAR reports. It is the second consecutive month that existing-home sales have posted declines. Sales are now 4.8 percent below levels from a year ago and are at the slowest pace since last September.<\/p>\n A Closer Look<\/strong><\/p>\n The following are highlights from NAR\u2019s existing-home sales report, reflecting the latest January sales data:<\/p>\n \u201cThe underproduction of single-family homes over the last decade has played a predominant role in the current inventory crisis that is weighing on affordability,\u201d says Yun. \u201cHowever, there\u2019s hope that the tide is finally turning. There was a nice jump in new home construction in January and homebuilder confidence is high. These two factors will hopefully lay the foundation for the building industry to meaningfully ramp up production as this year progresses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Source: National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Realtors <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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