Pending Home Sales Fall For the Fourth Straight Month in February

Source: National Association of Realtors

US pending home sales edged lower by 4.1% to an index of 104.9 in February, the fourth straight month that the contract signings have registered losses. SPY is up +0.45%, DXY is down -0.21%.

• Only the Northeast reported an increase in pending home sales in February, while the three other major regions of the US posted a month-over-month decline.
• On a year-over-year basis, the contract signings declined by 5.4%.
• NAR’s chief economist Lawrence Yun attributed the fall in contract signings for homes to a low number of units in the market. He says buyer demand remains high.
• Yun says rising mortgages remain a concern but points out that buyers are likely to flock to the market before the rates go higher.
• The NAR chief economist expects mortgage rates to hold at around 4.5% to 5% in 2022, while home sales are likely to experience a 7% decline in activity compared to last year.
• Yun expects house prices to rise by about 5% by the end of 2022, although softer gains are likely to be experienced in the second half of the year.