NAR: Pending Home Sales Fell 7.3 Percent in September to an Index Reading of 66.0, Contract Signings Down in All Four Regions
Pending home sales in the United States decreased 7.3 percent month-over-month and 11.3 percent year-over-year in September, with the Pending Home Sales Index falling to 66.0, its lowest reading since the series began in 2001, according to the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) Pending Home Sales report released in Washington on October 20. Month-over-month contract signings declined in all four major U.S. regions, with the West posting the largest decrease, and year-over-year pending sales also declined in all four regions.
'Market conditions weakened in September due to fast-rising mortgage rates,' said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. 'Although job growth and income gains can support home purchases, housing affordability is more affected by changes in mortgage rates.' He said that, given mortgage rates have already risen much more than the Federal Reserve's short-term interest rate hikes, mortgage rates could be topping out, although rising energy prices and the resulting inflationary pressure remain highly uncertain.
By region, month-over-month pending sales fell 9.2 percent in the West, 8.2 percent in the South, 6.5 percent in the Midwest and 4.2 percent in the Northeast; year-over-year, they fell 15.0 percent in the West, 12.0 percent in the South, 9.4 percent in the Northeast and 8.7 percent in the Midwest. Yun added that, despite the difficulty of obtaining a mortgage, the limited number of distressed properties is keeping home prices steady, and buyers and sellers may simply be holding back until mortgage rates move favorably. Pending home sales, based on contract signings, are a forward-looking indicator of existing-home sales.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 一栋挂出售牌的住宅（资料图）。Infrogmation of New Orleans 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / A house offered for sale (file photo). Photo by Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
