Pending home sales fell in August
Pending home sales fell nationally in August but remained at a healthy level, having risen year-over-year for 12 consecutive months, according to the National Association of Realtors.
A modest increase in the West in July was offset by declines in all other regions, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The 1.4 percent decline nationally to 109.4 on the index stood in contrast to the market expectation of a .5 percent increase, according to Yahoo! Finance. The PHSI in the Northeast fell 5.6 percent to 93.3 in August, but is still 8.9 percent above a year ago. The pending home sale index is an indicator based on contract signings with an index of 100 being equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001.
Sales of existing homes dipped nationwide in August after three straight months of gains, according to NAR, but the Northeast region was the exception.
Even with this decline, sales continue to outpace supply.
"Pending sales have leveled off since mid–summer, with buyers being bounded by rising prices and few available and affordable properties within their budget," Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a statement. "Even with existing-housing supply barely budging all summer and no relief coming from new construction, contract activity is still higher than earlier this year and a year ago."
According Yun, sales should be able to maintain their pace in the coming months.
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