New Home Sales rose in May, Existing Home Sales dropped in May, and today we find out that Pending Home Sales also tumbled in May… so that’s 2 down, 1 up – not good (especially as mortgage apps are tumbling in June).
This is the second monthly decline in a row, but Pending home sales are down 2.2% YoY – the 5th straight month of annual sales declines.
Home sales fell for the year in all regions YoY, but the decline in the last month was concentrated in the South, while the other three regions reported MoM increases.
“Realtors in most of the country continue to describe their markets as highly competitive and fast moving, but without enough new and existing inventory for sale, activity has essentially stalled,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said in a statement.
He now forecasts 2018 existing-home sales of 5.49 million, which would mark a 0.4 percent drop from 2017. Previously he had projected 5.54 million, a 0.5 percent increase.
As a reminder, economists consider pending sales a leading indicator because they track contract signings. Purchases of existing homes are tabulated when a deal closes, typically a month or two later
Finally, we note that homebuilder stocks continue to trend lower with disappointing US housing data…
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