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NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that July’s pending home sales pace inclined 0.9% from last month but fell 14.0% from a year ago.
Pending sales represent homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend to lead existing-home sales data by 1 to 2 months.
All four regions showed double-digit declines from a year ago. The Northeast had the largest dip of 20.2%, followed by the Midwest with a drop in contract signings of 16.0%. The West fell 12.8%, followed by the South with the smallest decline of 10.9%.
Since last month, two of the four regions showed increases in contract signings. The West region had the biggest incline of 6.2%, followed by the South with a gain of 2.0%. The Northeast had the largest decline of 5.8%, followed by the West with the smallest drop of 0.4%.
The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month of July was 77.6. June’s pending sales figures were revised to 76.9.
July’s contract signings bring the pending index below the 100-level mark for the sixteenth consecutive month.
The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with existing-home sales above the 5 million mark.
