U.S. Pending Home Sales Slip 1.7% in October on Inventory Drop
U.S. Pending Home Sales Slip 1.7% in October on Inventory Drop
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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.
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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