Pending home sales fell to start the year, according to the National Association of Realtors…(NAR)
- M-O-M: The Pending Home Sales Index fell 5.7% to 109.5 in January, economists had actually projected a slight increase of 1.0% to start the year.
- Y-O-Y: Pending home sales fell 9.5% when compared to the same time last year..
REMINDER: An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said that low inventory is still a big problem but rising rates might depress demand…
- “With inventory at an all-time low, buyers are still having a difficult time finding a home…Given the situation in the market – mortgages, home costs and inventory – it would not be surprising to see a retreat in housing demand,”
Regionally, the South continues to lead the way despite a 6.3% drop in January to an index of 134.6…
- The Midwest was second with the only other index in triple digits at 104.4 (-5.9%) followed by the West with the only month-over-month increase at 95.2 and the Northeast at 84.3 (-12.1%).
REMINDER: Zonda Economics, earlier this week, reported that new home pending sales were down 4.8% month-over-month to 149.8 in January.