Pending home sales fell in September thanks to continued inventory shortages and rising rates, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors…(NAR)
- M-O-M: The Pending Home Sales Index fell 2.3% to 116.7 in September.
- Y-O-Y: Signings were also down 8.0% when compared to the same time one year ago.
NOTE: An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
Regionally, all four regions saw monthly and yearly declines in September…
- The Northeast had the worst month of all the regions falling 3.2% to 93.1 in September. However, year-over-year data was even worse with an 18.5% decline.
- The South had the best month with a 1.8% drop to an index of 139.1 which is still down 5.8% from September 2020.
NOTE: The Midwest saw a monthly decline of 3.5% to 111.4 with a 5.8% drop year-over-year and the West had the smallest monthly decline with a 1.4% drop to 105.3 which is a 7.2% decrease from a year prior.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, noted that the continued low inventory levels could put upward pressure on rents which will in turn keep demand for homes high…
- “Rents have been mounting solidly of late, with falling rental vacancy rates…This could lead to more renters seeking homeownership in order to avoid the rising inflation, so an increase in inventory will be welcomed.”