Sales of previously occupied homes in the United States surged by a forecast-beating 6.7 percent in January, with the supply of existing homes for sale falling to a record low and prices again ticking up, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Existing-home sales rose to an annual rate of 6.5 million in January, up 6.7 percent from December, a month that saw sales drop by 3.8 percent. Consensus forecasts expected a 1 percent decline in previously occupied home sales in January. “The market is still thriving as an abundance of home sales took place in January,” NAR President Leslie Rouda Smith said in a statement. The spike in in January sales could reflect buyers rushing in to close on contracts amid market expectations of a further rise in mortgage rates, which have risen sharply to levels not seen since 2019 on anticipation that the Fed will raise interest rates …