Existing Home Sales Dropped 4.9% In January As Housing Market Cools

Existing home sales -- a figure that counts completed sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condos and co-ops -- fell 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.82 million in January, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. This marks the lowest rate since the 4.75 million reported in April 2014, and the 4.9% decline in sales is a much sharper decline than the 1.8% drop that Wall Street analysts were projecting.