The projected annual rate of sales for resale homes fell 23.4 percent in January compared to the same month last year, and the median price was down 4.6 percent, the National Association of Realtors reported today.

The sales rate — a projection of a monthly total over a 12-month period, adjusted to account for seasonal fluctuations in sales activity — hit its lowest level since the association began tracking combined sales of previously owned condos and single-family homes in 1999.

Bank of America officials have reportedly gotten behind a plan to create a Federal Homeownership Preservation Corp. that would buy billions in mortgages that might otherwise end up in foreclosure.

In a proposal to congressional lawmakers, BofA officials warn that up to $739 billion in mortgages are at risk of default in the next five years, and that the government intervention is needed, the New York Times reported.

BofA is backing a proposal by Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., to create a government-chartered corporation that would buy up troubled mortgages from lenders and investors at a discount, and move homeowners into 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).