Pending-Home Sales Fall in June
Pending-home sales fell once again in June. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending sales transactions declined by 0.8% on a month-over-month basis in June, and by 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Even so, NAR's Realtors Confidence Index predicts a 4% and 6% year-over-year increase in respective homebuyer and seller traffic.
Pending sales fell in most U.S. regions
Pending-home sales declined year-over-year in all four regions of the U.S. The West saw the largest year-over-year decline at 7.3%, followed by the South at 2.9%, and the Midwest at 0.9%. The Northeast was the only region where pending sales were unchanged year-over-year; on a month-over-month basis, pending sales actually grew in the Northeast by 2.1%.
In all three other regions, pending sales also declined on month-over-month. In the West, pending sales declined by 3.9% from May, while in the Midwest and South, they declined by 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
Weakened interest from buyers could be to blame for the lack of pending sales
- Weak Homebuyer Demand Causes Surge in Delistings: With buyers pulling back from the market, sellers have started pulling their listings off the market. As of May, delisitings grew by 47% year-over-year.
- Home Builders Report Less Buyer Demand: Builders are reporting both a decline in sales as well as a decline in traffic to new housing communities.