US existing home sales edge past forecasts in January

Second-hand sales of homes edged past forecasts last month.

According to the National Association of Realtors, in seasonally adjusted terms, so-called existing home sales grew by 0.6% month-on-month to reach an annualised pace of 6.69m.

Economists had penciled-in a reading of 6.62m.

Prices were also higher alongside, with the median price standing 14.1% higher than a year ago at $303,900

In parallel, the inventory of homes available for sale had fallen 25.7% to 1.04m.