Pending home sales declined 1.2% in March, the National Association of Realtors reported.
Compared with March 2021, pending home sales fell 8.2% to an index of 103.7. March was the tenth consecutive month of year-over-year declines in pending home sales. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
“The falling contract signings are implying that multiple offers will soon dissipate and be replaced by much calmer and normalized market conditions,” stated Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “As it stands, the sudden large gains in mortgage rates have reduced the pool of eligible homebuyers, and that has consequently lowered buying activity.”
Regionally, month-over-month, pending home sales increased 4.0% in the Northeast and declined 6.1% in the Midwest, 0.9% in the South and 0.2% in the West.
The full NAR report can be found here.
