Pending-home sales beat expectations with a big jump in October, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors…(NAR)
- M-O-M: The Pending Home Sales Index jumped 7.5% to 125.2 in October 2021.
- Y-O-Y: Despite the monthly jump, signings year-over-year fell 1.4%. Reminder, an index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
I am amazed there are any homes for sale in the South as that region continues to lead the way with an index of 149.7 after an 8.0% jump in October followed by the Midwest at 124.6 (+11.8%), the West at 107.5 (+2.1%), and the Northeast at 99.5 (+6.9%).
- Y-O-Y: It was a mixed month as The Northeast saw the biggest drop with a 10% decline and the West was also down with a 6.2% decline when compared to October 2020. Meanwhile, the Midwest saw the biggest jump with 5.1% increase and the South barely recorded a gain with a 0.9% increase from the same time one year ago.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said that despite rising prices and rates home buying remains strong…
- “Motivated by fast-rising rents and the anticipated increase in mortgage rates, consumers that are on strong financial footing are signing contracts to purchase a home sooner rather than later,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “This solid buying is a testament to demand still being relatively high, as it is occurring during a time when inventory is still markedly low.
NOTE: Chief U.S. Economist at SGH Macro said on Twitter in reaction to the pending-home sales data “People say this is a bad time to buy a home, yet they are still buying homes.”