Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in January, with realtors blaming low housing inventory. The pending home sales index dropped 0.8% last month to 70.9, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast contracts, which become sales after a month or two, rising 1.3%. Contracts fell in the Northeast and the densely populated South. They rose in the Midwest and West regions. Pending home sales fell 0.4% from a year earlier. "With mortgage rates nearing 6%, an additional 5.5 million households that could not qualify for a mortgage one year ... (full story)