MarketWatch: Pending home sales index falls 3.2% in July

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Pending home sales index falls 3.2% in July

By Ruth Mantell, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- In a sign that the U.S. housing market may weaken in coming months, an index of sales contracts on previously owned U.S. homes fell 3.2% in July from the prior month, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.

The index, which is considered a leading indicator of existing home sales, was down 6.8% from the prior year.

Pending home sales in July were mixed regionally, with a decline of 10.6% in the West, and 7.5% in the Northeast. In the South, there was no growth. And in the Midwest, there was a gain of 2.8%.
The June pending home sales index was revised to a gain of 5.8% from a prior estimate of a 5.3% increase.

The data has been mixed in recent months, and analysts have said that it may still be too early to call a bottom to the market, despite some signs of stability in prior pending home sales data.
Dramatic differences between local markets have been ongoing, according to NAR.

"Contract signings have been steaming ahead, nearly doubling in activity from a year before in several California and Florida markets," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, in a statement. "The outer Washington, D.C., exurbs also are coming around very strongly. The Northeast region retreated following a robust gain in the previous month, and soft activity was observed in the broad midsection of America despite very affordable conditions."

He added that the outlook for the housing market is "very cloudy." .......(more)

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