New listings of homes for sale drops

New listings of U.S. homes for sale fell 1.7 percent during the week that ended June 21, the largest decline since February, according to a report.

The total number of homes for sale nationwide dropped 0.4 percent nationwide during that time, according to Redfin, the commercial real estate firm in Seattle.

Would-be home sellers are backing away from the market, partly because they don’t see much interest among potential buyers.

“Homebuying demand is sluggish because housing payments are stubbornly high,” the report states.

Pending home sales fell 0.1 percent week over week, at the third straight week of slight declines from their May peak. Mortgage-purchase applications also fell for the second straight week, according to Redfin.