Pending home sales have diminished to the lowest level in nearly 2 years. Although recent hurricanes hurt activity in the South, a quick recovery is expected for the region.
In September, the Pending Home Sales Index — an indication of upcoming single-family home sales based on contract signings — landed at a seasonally adjusted 106.0.
While the index was unchanged from the downwardly revised level the prior month, it still remains at its lowest level since it was an upwardly revised 104.7 in January 2015 — a 17-month high at the time.
The National Association of Realtors revealed the latest index on Thursday.
Compared to the downwardly revised level a year prior, the index descended nearly 4 percent. A year-over-year decline has been recorded five out of the past six months.
“Existing sales were down notably on an annual basis in the price range below $250,000, but up solidly the higher up the price bracket,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun explained in the report.
In the West, the index was a seasonally adjusted 102.7, climbing from August by nearly 2 percent — the biggest month-over-month gain of any region. A 1.4 percent gain from a month earlier left the index at 102.9 in the Midwest, while a 1.2 percent increase in the Northeast put the index there at 94.5.
Only the South suffered a drop in pending home sales, with the index there down more than 2 percent from the preceding month to 115.9.
“Hurricane Irma’s direct hit on Florida weighed on activity in the South, but similar to how Houston has rebounded after Hurricane Harvey, Florida’s strong job and population growth should guide sales back to their pre-storm pace fairly quickly,” Yun stated.
