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Contract signings for previously sold U.S. homes fell by the most since July while remaining healthy on an annual basis.
Pending home sales, a leading indicator for transactions, decreased 1.7% in October from the prior month and rose 3.9% from a year earlier, the second highest pace since 2016, according to data Wednesday from the National Association of Realtors. The results missed estimates.
An inventory decline and small uptick in mortgage rates cooled activity in October, according to Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. The outlook remains favorable though, amid generally low mortgage rates that attract buyers, Yun said in a statement. “Employment levels are strong and many recession claims have dissipated,” he said.
The housing market has shown signs of stabilizing as sales of new properties in the last two months posted the best gain in more than 12 years and existing home sales rose in October. Buyers and builders are optimistic amid a solid labor market and low mortgage rates.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katia Dmitrieva in Washington at edmitrieva1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Margaret Collins
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