U.S. Pending Home Sales Rose in October, Beating Expectations -- NAR
November 29 2021 - 10:41AM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Martinez
The number of houses going under contract in the U.S. increased
in October, rebounding after a decline the previous month,
according to data from the National Association of Realtors
released Monday. Here are the report's main takeaways:
--The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator of
home sales based on contract signings, rose 7.5% to 125.2 in
October compared with the previous month.
--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the
indicator to increase by 0.7% on the month.
--Pending home sales were down 1.4% in October compared with the
same month a year earlier.
--"Motivated by fast-rising rents and the anticipated increase
in mortgage rates, consumers that are on strong financial footing
are signing contracts to purchase a home sooner rather than later,"
said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. This solid buying is a
testament to demand still being relatively high, as it is occurring
during a time when inventory is still markedly low, he said.
--Month-on-month transactions in October increased 6.9% in the
Northeast. In the Midwest, the index climbed 11.8%. Pending home
sales transactions in the South rose 8.0% in October, and the index
in the West grew 2.1%.
Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 29, 2021 10:26 ET (15:26 GMT)
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