A year of falling home sales ends with prices rising incrementally.

According to data released by the National Association of Realtors on Tuesday, sales of previously owned homes dropped 0.7% in January, capping a year of declines.

Although the rate of decline was smaller than in December (when sales were down 1.5%), overall sales are almost 37% below a year ago, indicating the severity of the housing market downturn. Sales are suffering due to rising mortgage rates and a lack of available homes for ....