by Calculated Risk on 6/29/2016 10:02:00 AM

From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Skid in May

After steadily increasing for three straight months, pending home sales letup in May and declined year-over-year for the first time in almost two years, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All four major regions experienced a cutback in contract activity last month.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, slid 3.7 percent to 110.8 in May from a downwardly revised 115.0 in April and is now slightly lower (0.2 percent) than May 2015 (111.0). With last month’s decline, the index reading is still the third highest in the past year, but declined year-over-year for the first time since August 2014.
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The PHSI in the Northeast dropped 5.3 percent to 93.0 in May, and is now unchanged from a year ago. In the Midwest the index slipped 4.2 percent to 108.0 in May, and is now 1.8 percent below May 2015.

Pending home sales in the South declined 3.1 percent to an index of 126.6 in May but are still 0.6 percent higher than last May. The index in the West decreased 3.4 percent in May to 102.6, and is now 0.1 percent below a year ago..
emphasis added

This was below expectations of a 1.0% decrease for this index.  Note: Contract signings usually lead sales by about 45 to 60 days, so this would usually be for closed sales in June and July.