U.S. existing home sales fall to three-year low

U.S. home sales fell in January to their lowest level in more than three years and house prices rose only modestly. The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday existing home sales dropped 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million units last month.

That was the lowest level since November 2015 and well below analysts’ expectations of a rate of 5.0 million units. December’s sales pace was revised slightly higher. The drop in January came after months of weakness in the U.S. housing market. Existing home sales were down 8.5% from a year ago. The median existing house price increased 2.8 % from a year ago to $247,500 in January. That was the smallest increase since February 2012.