Pending home sales fell for the fifth straight month in October however, they didn’t fall as much as expected, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors.
- M-O-M: The Pending Home Sales Index fell 4.6% to 77.1 in October. This is slightly better than the 5.0% drop economists projected. Reminder, an index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
- Y-O-Y: Pending transactions were down 37.0% when compared to the same time last year.
Regional. Three of the four regions saw a monthly drop with the West seeing the biggest drop with an 11.3% drop to an index of 55.6 in October. The South fell 6.4% but still, by far, has the highest index at 90.6 and the Northeast fell 4.3% to 68.7.
- The Midwest was the only region in the green with a 3.3% gain to an index of 83.5.
Analysis. Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist, said that skyrocketing mortgage rates weighed heavy on buyers in October but was optimistic about the final two months of 2022. “October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced 20-year-high mortgage rates…The upcoming months should see a return of buyers, as mortgage rates appear to have already peaked and have been coming down since mid-November.”