Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes fell far more than expected in November, diving for a sixth straight month in the latest indication of the hefty toll the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes are taking on the housing market as the central bank seeks to curb inflation.
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Wednesday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on signed contracts, fell 4 percent to 73.9 last month from October’s downwardly revised 77.0. November’s was the lowest reading—aside from the shortlived drop in the early months of the pandemic—since NAR launched the index in 2001….