While the drop wasn’t as bad as new home sales, pending home sales fell in April, according to the National Association of Realtors…(NAR)
- M-O-M: The Pending Home Sales Index fell 3.9% to 99.3 in April. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
- Y-O-Y: pending home sales fell 9.1% when compared to the same time last year.
The South kept the top spot despite a 4.7% decline to an index of 119.0, this is down 10.3% from one year ago.
- Midwest was the only region in the green with a 6.6% increase to an index of 100.7, this is down 2.8% from one year ago.
- The West was down 4.3% to an index of 85.9, this is down 10.5% from one year ago,
- The Northeast continues to come in last with a big 16.20% drop to an index of 74.8, this is down 14.3% from one year ago.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said that pending home sales data is a timelier reflection of changing market conditions…
- “Pending contracts are telling, as they better reflect the timelier impact from higher mortgage rates than do closings…The latest contract signings mark six consecutive months of declines and are at the slowest pace in nearly a decade.”