By Xavier Fontdegloria

 

The number of houses going under contract in the U.S. declined in September after rising sharply in August, according to data from the National Association of Realtors released Thursday. Here are the report's main takeaways:

--The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, decreased 2.3% to 116.7 in September compared with the previous month.

--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the indicator to increase by 1.0% on month.

--Pending home sales were down 8.0% in September compared with the same month a year earlier.

--Contract transactions are showing signs of a calmer home price trend as the market is running ahead of pre-pandemic activity, said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Some potential buyers have momentarily paused their home search with intentions to resume in 2022," he said.

--Month-on-month transactions in September fell in all four U.S. regions. Activity declined the most in the Midwest, by 3.5%, followed by the Northeast, where contract signings decreased 3.2%. Pending home sales in the South and in the West dropped by 1.8% and 1.4%, respectively.

 

Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 28, 2021 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

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