Pending Home Sales rose just 0.4% MoM (missing expectations of 0.7% MoM) and saw prior months revised notably lower (Feb down from +3.1% to +2.8%).
Weather remains the ‘go to’ blame factor from realtors as the regional differences suggest…
- Northeast fell 5.6%; Feb. rose 10.3%
- Midwest up 2.4%; Feb. rose 0.7%
- South up 2.5%; Feb. rose 2.9%
- West fell 1.1%; Feb. fell 0.7%
Unadjusted pending home sales dropped 4.4% YoY (the 4th straight month of declines – the longest streak since 2014)…
“Healthy economic conditions are creating considerable demand for purchasing a home, but not all buyers are able to sign contracts because of the lack of choices in inventory,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement.
“Prospective buyers are increasingly having difficulty finding an affordable home to buy.”
“It is an absolute necessity for there to be a large increase in new and existing homes available for sale in coming months to moderate home price growth,” he said.
“Otherwise, sales will remain stuck in this holding pattern and a growing share of would-be buyers — especially first-time buyers — will be left on the sidelines.”
Purchases dropped 5.6 percent in the Northeast, reflecting multiple winter storms…
“As anticipated, the multiple winter storms and unseasonably cold weather contributed to the decrease in contract signings in the Northeast.”
As a reminder, economists consider pending sales a leading indicator because they track contract signings.
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