Pending homes sales plummeted 4.7% percent in May
The Economy, Real Estate July 8th, 2008
It looks like the Spring bump in sales is over and we are now entering another leg down for the housing market. Those who expected that the market would recover this Spring/Summer are now seeing that things will get worse before they get any better.
Reuters reports that “Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes plummeted by 4.7 percent in May, far more than expected and a sign of more trouble ahead for the beleaguered housing market”
CNNMoney says: “Renewed pain for home sales. The number of existing homes under contract to be sold dips 4.7% in May after an unexpected rise the month before.”
The Wall Street Journal says: “Pending-Home Sales Index Slips. A forecasting gauge of home sales resumed falling in May, suggesting the housing market is still searching for the bottom.”
If you want to read the whole NAR report, here it is.
The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in May, fell 4.7 percent to 84.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 88.9 in April, and remains 14.0 percent below May 2007 when it stood at 98.5.
The PHSI in the West slipped 1.3 percent to 97.5 in May but is 2.0 percent higher than May 2007. In the Northeast, the index declined 2.9 percent to 77.0 in May and is 16.4 percent below a year ago. The index in the Midwest fell 6.0 percent to 78.6 and is 13.8 percent below May 2007. In the South, the index dropped 7.1 percent in May to 84.5 and is 22.1 percent below a year ago.
