U.S. home resales tumble in January

WASHINGTON — Sales of existing U.S. homes saw an unexpected decline in January, falling 3.2% to seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.38 million units. The decrease came as a supply squeeze drove up prices, freezing out first-home buyers. Together with rising interest rates, those conditions have fueled concerns that market activity will continue to stall through the spring. On a year-on-year basis, home resales fell by 4.8%, the largest such decline since August 2014. A Reuters poll found economists predicting a rate of 5.6 million units for the month.