U.S. Pending Home Sales Slip
Although pending home sales marked their 14th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in June, they dropped from May, according to the the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Homes Sales Index.
An indicator of the housing industry, based on pending sales of existing homes, the index slipped 1.4 percent to 99.3 in June, from a revised 100.7 in May. That's still 9.5 percent higher than June 2011 though. The index faltered the most in the Northeast, dropping 7.6 percent, to 76.6, which is still 12.2 percent higher than last year.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said inventory shortages are a factor. "Buyer interest remains strong, but fewer home listings mean fewer contract signing opportunities," he said. "We've been seeing a steady decline in the level of housing inventory, which is most pronounced in the lower price ranges popular with first-time buyers and investors."
The data reflect contracts but not closings and an index level of 100 considered healthy.
According to the Realtors Confidence Index, the buyer traffic index stood at 60 in June while the seller index was 41, showing an imbalance between buyer and seller interest. A value of 50 implies neutral market conditions. According to the NAR, the disparity between buyers and sellers began to grow in early spring and has continued for the past two months.
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