A gauge of pending sales of existing US homes fell to its lowest level on record in October, illustrating a resale market battered by high borrowing costs and prices. The National Association of Realtors’ index of contract signings to purchase previously owned homes declined 1.5% to 71.4, the lowest in data back to 2001, the group reported Thursday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 2% decrease. “During October, mortgage rates were at their highest, and contract signings for existing homes were at their lowest in more than 20 years,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a ... (full story)