Pending home sales fell on an annual basis for the fifth month in a row, dropping 0.5 percent in May, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index.
The index is down 2.2 percent compared with May 2017.
The “lackluster” spring pending home sales is due to a low inventory of houses for sale, according to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Realtors in most of the country continue to describe their markets as highly competitive and fast moving, but without enough new and existing inventory for sale, activity has essentially stalled,” Yun said in a statement.
Regionally, pending home sales increased 2.0 percent in the Northeast in May, but remain 4.8 percent below May 2017 sales. Pending home sales in the Midwest increased 2.9 percent since April, but lag behind last year’s sales by 2.5 percent. The West increased pending home sales by 0.6 percent, but is 4.1 percent below last year. Sales in the South declined 3.5 percent since April and remain unchanged compared with 2017.
