03:03 PM EST, 02/21/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Home resales fell to a 4.08 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in January from an upwardly revised 4.29 million rate in December.

Sales were up 2% from January 2024.

Three of the four US regions posted month-over-month sales declines in January, while the other region reported an unchanged reading. There were higher sales in three of the four regions from a year earlier, and one unchanged reading.

"Mortgage rates have refused to budge for several months despite multiple rounds of short-term interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "When combined with elevated home prices, housing affordability remains a major challenge."

Homes were on the market for 41 days on average, up from 35 days in the previous month and 36 days a year ago.

The supply of homes for sale rose to a 1.18 million level from 1.14 million in December and was up 16.8% from a year ago. The median sales prices rose by 4.8% year over year.

The flash manufacturing reading from S&P Global rose to 51.6 in February from 51.2 in January, an 8-month high after regional data from the New York and Philadelphia Federal Reserve banks also pointed to expansion in the sector.

Released at the same time, the flash services reading from S&P Global fell to a 25-month low of 49.7 in February from 52.9 in January, now suggesting contraction.

The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for February was revised lower to 64.7 from the preliminary estimate of 67.8 and was below January's reading of 71.7.

Michigan said that inflation expectations were significantly elevated in January, with a split among political parties. Democrats and Independents see heightened inflation, while Republicans expect slightly lower inflation.

The St. Louis Fed's GDP nowcast estimate for Q1 is for a 1.77% gain, revised down from a 2.11% gain reported in the previous week.