American home sales fell in February 2022 to a near-record low, as shortages of houses and double-digit price growth continue to push first-time buyers out of the market. Contracts to buy resold homes, which account for the bulk of U.S. home sales, have fallen for three straight months in all four regions of the United States, according to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) report on March 18. Existing home sales fell 7.2 percent between January and February 2022 to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.02 million, the NAR reported. That was less than the roughly 6.1 million sales that economists were expecting in February 2022. The number of homes for sale at the end of February totaled just 870,000. Sales have declined 2.4 percent on a year-over-year basis since February 2021, as the median home price jumped 15 percent in the same time period to $357,300. A quarter of all homes sold …