Sales of existing homes in the US fell in January but tight supplies kept prices high, the National Association of Realtors says.
Sales of used family homes fell 5.1 per cent to an annual pace of 4.62 million units, down from the rate of 4.87 million in December.
The fall was all in sales of single-family homes, the largest part of the market, while sales of condominiums and co-ops were flat.
The median sales price in January was $US188,900 ($A210,040), lower than in December but up 10.7 per cent from a year earlier.
Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, blamed in part the severe winter weather around much of the country in the past two months for the slower activity, and said some sales would be pushed off into spring.
"At the same time, we can't ignore the ongoing headwinds of tight credit, limited inventory, higher prices and higher mortgage interest rates," he said in a statement.
"These issues will hinder home sales activity until the positive factors of job growth and new supply from higher housing starts begin to make an impact."
Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, called the data "grim" even while allowing that weather played "a big part" in the decline.
"We expect a sales rebound in the spring, but housing will be a drag on first-quarter growth," he said.
