US home sales fell again in January; prices edged higher

By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nation’s housing slump deepened in January as home sales fell for the 12th month in a row to the slowest pace in more than a dozen years. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that existing U.S. home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million properties last month. That’s the slowest annual pace since October 2010. January’s sales cratered by nearly 37% from a year earlier and slipped 0.7% from December. The median U.S. home price edged up 1.3% from January last year to $359,000. The latest housing data suggest home sales “are bottoming out,” said Lawrence Yun, the NAR’s chief economist.