It’s pending home sales day again. This time, the National Association of Realtors is providing data on pending sales
activity for March. What did the numbers show?
* Pendings dropped 1% in March, right in line with the forecast for a 1% decline. February’s reading was revised lower,
however — to -2.8% from the previously reported 1.9% decline.
* Regionally, pending sales fell in 3 out of 4 regions — the Midwest (-10.4%), the South (-0.1%), and the West
(-1.4%). Sales rose 12.5% in the Northeast.
* The index level was 83 in March, down 20.1% from the year-earlier reading of 103.9. That’s the worst on record for
this index, which dates back to January 2001.
The string of unimpressive housing numbers continues, with pending home sales showing
another decline in the month of March. Sales are down more than 20% from a year ago, and almost 35% from their April
2005 peak. There’s a real risk that many of these pending sales won’t turn into closed transactions, too, given the
tightening we’ve seen in the mortgage lending market. The latest Federal Reserve figures show that a greater percentage
of lenders than ever before are tightening standards on prime mortgages. And you don’t need me to tell you the subprime
market is all but gone.
If there’s a bright spot out there, it’s that the supply of homes for sale does appear to be declining in some markets.
I attribute that to a combination of falling construction activity, fire sales of spec homes by home builders, and
aggressive pricing by other motivated sellers, including banks holding foreclosed properties. The quicker prices
decline, the sooner affordability will be restored, and the faster the overhang of inventory will be worked down.
Related posts:
- Pending home sales surge 6.1% in September We just got pending home sales figures from the National Association of Realtors. Here’s what they looked like: * Pending...
- Pending home sales climb 3.6% in June The National Association of Realtors just released the latest data on pending home sales. The June figures continued the recent...
- Pending home sales climb 3.2% in July The National Association of Realtors released its data on pending home sales today. Here’s what the numbers looked like …...
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