U.S. Pending Home Sales Fell in October as Demand Wanes -- NAR
November 30 2022 - 10:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Xavier Fontdegloria
The number of houses going under contract in the U.S. declined
again in October as rapidly rising mortgage rates and low
affordability hurt demand, data from the National Association of
Realtors showed Wednesday.
--The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator of home
sales based on contract signings, fell 4.6% on month, to 77.1, in
October. This is close to the level seen in April 2020, when the
index fell to 70.0 amid Covid-19 pandemic trough.
--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the
index to decline 5.5% on month.
--Pending home sales were 37% below the same month a year
earlier.
--"October was a difficult month for home buyers as they faced
20-year-high mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief
economist. The upcoming months should see a return of buyers, as
mortgage rates appear to have already peaked and have been coming
down since mid-November, he said.
--Pending home sales dropped in three of the four major U.S.
regions. Transactions fell the most in the West, by 11.3% on month,
followed by a 6.4% decline in the South and a 4.3% drop in the
Northeast. Pending home sales increased 3.3% in the Midwest.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 30, 2022 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)
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