Pending home sales down 1.4%
Month over month, contracts to purchase existing homes declined 1.4%, the second month-over-month drop in three months. The year-over-year trend, however, is in its fourteenth month of consecutive gains — demonstrated by the 80 metropolitan areas that made this month’s “Improving Markets Index,” which is compiled by the National Association of Homebuilders and First American.
Limited listings may be behind the decline
The chief economist of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Lawrence Yun, commented that “buyer interest remains strong but fewer home listings mean fewer contract signing opportunities.” Single-family homes on the market in June went down 3% from their levels in May and a whopping 24% from June of last year, the biggest year-over-year decrease in more than 30 years. Slow processing of distressed properties along with homeowners unwilling to sell their home when the current value is so much less than what they paid are the primary causes.
Supply and demand pressures helping stabilize the market
As inventories go down, the low home prices and record-breaking low mortgage rates continue to drive demand, which means that many listings — those priced appropriately for the current market condition — are receiving multiple offers, allowing sellers more choice picking a buyer and the terms of the sale.
Via Realty Times and Greenwich Post and NAHB.
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