U.S. Pending Home Sales Tumble in June
Abstract
The numbers: U.S. pending-home sales fell in June by 8.6%, according to the monthly index released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast the pending home sales index to drop by 1%. The drop in pending home sales is the biggest since the depths of the pandemic in April and March 2020. It also follows gloomy data on new home sales, builder confidence, as well as declining mortgage application volume. Though home prices have yet to come down, there are signs of price growth decelerating, which could start to make homes more affordable. The index reflects transactions where the contract has been signed for an existing-home sale, but the sale has not yet closed. Economists view it as an indicator for the direction of existing-home sales in subsequent months. What the realtors said: "Home sales will be down by 13% in 2022, according to our latest projection," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said.
