Bloomberg) — Pending US sales of previously-owned homes unexpectedly declined in January by the most in five months as elevated mortgage rates kept a lid on housing demand.

A gauge of contract signings from the National Association of Realtors decreased 4.9% to 74.3, after surging to an eight-month high in December. The decline was steeper than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists.

“This combination of economic conditions is favorable for home buying,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement. “However, consumers are showing extra sensitivity to changes in mortgage rates in the current cycle, and that’s impacting home sales.”

 

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