by Calculated Risk on 8/29/2019 10:03:00 AM

From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Decline 2.5% in July

ending home sales fell in July, reversing course on two consecutive months of gains, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Of the four major regions, each reported a drop in contract activity, although the greatest decline came in the West.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, decreased 2.5% to 105.6 in July, down from 108.3 in June. Year-over-year contract signings fell 0.3%, doing an about-face of the prior month’s increase.
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All regional indices are down from June. The PHSI in the Northeast fell 1.6% to 93.0 in July and is now 0.9% lower than a year ago. In the Midwest, the index dropped 2.5% to 101.0 in July, 1.2% less than July 2018.

Pending home sales in the South decreased 2.4% to an index of 122.7 in July, but that number is 0.1% higher than last July. The index in the West declined 3.4% in July to 93.5 but still increased 0.3% above a year ago.
emphasis added

This was well below expectations of a 0.3% increase for this index. Note: Contract signings usually lead sales by about 45 to 60 days, so this would usually be for closed sales in August and September.