Pending home sales increased 0.6% in August to a level of 70.6 on the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index.
Compared with August 2023, however, pending home sales were down 3.0%.
“A slight upward turn reflects a modest improvement in housing affordability, primarily because mortgage rates descended to 6.5% in August,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. “However, contract signings remain near cyclical lows even as home prices keep marching to new record highs.”
Regionally, month-over-month pending home sales increased 3.2% in the Midwest, 3.2% in the West and 0.1% in the South. Meanwhile, sales fell 4.6% in the Northeast.
The full NAR report can be found at this link.
