Attributing the drop to tight housing inventories, which is limiting choices and increasing prices, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) says its pending home sales index fell 2.5 percent in Jan. to 106.0, the lowest level since Jan. 2014, as yahoofinance tells MHProNews.

In percentages by region, only the South saw a rise in pending home sales, but of only 0.3 percent. They plummeted 4.9 percent in the Midwest, dropped by 4.5 percent in the West, and fell by 3.2 percent in the Northeast. A survey of economists by Reuters had revealed a forecasted rise of 0.5 percent overall.

“While pending home sales have been weak lately, some other housing indicators, including the mortgage purchase application data reported through most of February have looked strong, giving us hope the housing market is continuing to recover,” said Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan in New York. ##

(Photo credit: Associated Press/Paul Sakuma)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.