Sales of existing homes dwindled for the third straight month in January, falling 1.2 percent from December to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.49 million, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Sales have decreased 8.5 percent since January 2018.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that though sales were weak compared with historical norms, he believes they have hit a cyclical low.
“Moderating home prices combined with gains in household income will boost housing affordability, bringing more buyers to the market in the coming months,” Yun said in a statement.
The median price for existing homes was up 2.8 percent year-over-year at $247,500.
Existing housing inventory increased to 1.59 million compared with 1.53 million in December.
Regionally, sales grew 2.9 percent in the Northeast in January, but fell in all other regions, including the Midwest (down 2.5 percent), the South (down 1.0 percent) and the West (down 2.9 percent).
