U.S. Economy: Pending Home Resales Fell More Than Forecast (Bob Willis)

  April 8 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes declined more than forecast in February, indicating no sign of a bottom in the U.S. real-estate recession that is entering its third year.

  The National Association of Realtors' index of signed purchase agreements decreased 1.9 percent to 84.6, the lowest reading since records began in 2001, the group said today. The drop follows a revised 0.3 percent increase in January.

  The continued slump in sales may spur further declines in property values, worsening the slide in mortgage securities that has already caused $232 billion of asset writedowns and credit losses. Traders anticipate the Federal Reserve will have to lower interest rates by at least a quarter point this month to cushion the economy's downturn.

  ``Looking for a bottom in housing is a little premature,'' Drew Matus, senior economist at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. ``Prices are likely to come down and we expect that to continue for some time.''

  Economists had forecast the index would fall 1 percent from an unchanged reading previously reported for January, according to the median of 29 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Projections ranged from a decline of 1.5 percent to a 1.5 percent gain. Compared with a year earlier, the measure was down 21 percent.

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