The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released data showing that existing home sales contracts in the US decreased by 8.4% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units, marking the largest monthly decline since April 2022. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun pointed out that extreme weather and heavy rainfall in January disrupted the transaction process, especially in the southern regions where contract sales plummeted by 9%, leaving an annualized rate of only 1.81 million units. Notably, despite a downward trend in mortgage rates and a slowdown in home price increases that improved affordability, Lawrence believes these positive signals are not enough to reverse the overall trend. He stated that it is difficult to determine whether this decline is merely a short-term fluctuation caused by weather or a sign of genuine demand contraction, and the path to housing market recovery may be a long one. Lawrence's perspective reflects the complex situation of the current US real estate market—positive conditions coexist with declining sales, and the market outlook remains uncertain.