U.S. Pending Home Sales Rose in December But Were Sharply Lower in 2022 -- NAR
January 27 2023 - 10:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Xavier Fontdegloria
The number of houses going under contract in the U.S. rose in
December, ending a string of six consecutive months of falls,
capping a year in which housing transactions faced a significant
downturn as mortgage rates rose sharply. Here are the main
takeaways from the National Association of Realtors' report
published Friday:
--The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator of home
sales based on contract signings, rose 2.5% to 76.9 in
December.
--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the
index to decline 1%.
--Pending home sales dropped 33.8% compared with the same month
a year earlier.
--The recent low point in home sales activity is likely over,
said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Mortgage rates are the
dominant factor driving home sales, and recent declines in rates
are clearly helping to stabilize the market," he said.
--The increase in pending home sales was driven by sharp
increases in two of the four major U.S. regions. Transactions rose
6.4% on month in the West, and by 6.1% in the South. In the
Midwest, sales fell by a marginal 0.3%, while they dropped by 6.5%
in the Northeast.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 27, 2023 10:14 ET (15:14 GMT)
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