The
National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Wednesday its seasonally
adjusted pending home sales index (PHSI) went down 2.2 percent m-o-m to 122.4
in November, after an unrevised 7.5 percent m-o-m surge in October.
Economists
had expected pending home sales to grow 0.5 percent m-o-m in November.
On
y-o-y basis, the index fell 2.7 percent after an unrevised 1.4 percent drop in October. This marked
the fifth consecutive y-o-y decline, which, however, was the smallest.
According
to the report, all four regional indices witnessed m-o-m declines in pending home
sales operations in November, and three of them saw y-o-y drops.
The
index gauging pending home sales transactions in the Midwest showed the biggest
drop in November, tumbling 6.3 percent m-o-m; it, however, was up 0.2 percent
y-o-y. Meanwhile, the West PHSI fell 2.2 percent m-o-m and declined 4.6 percent
y-o-y. The South measure decreased 0.7 percent m-o-m and 1.3 percent y-o-y. The
Northeast indicator edged down 0.1 percent m-o-m and plunged 8.5 percent y-o-y.
Commenting
on the latest report, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist suggested that a
decrease in pending home sales action in November was both due to low housing
supply as well as buyers’ hesitation about home prices.