Here Comes Existing Home Sales...
Economists polled by Bloomberg are looking for existing home sales to fall 2% month-over-month to an annualized pace of 5.2 million. This compares with a 3.2% fall to 5.12 million in October.
Now that the Fed has announced that it is tapering back its asset purchases to $75 billion a month, down from $85 billion a month, some like Redfin's Ellen Haberle think mortgage rates will hit 5% and possibly move higher in the coming weeks, and that this will be a "tough reality check for many homebuyers."
Rising mortgage rates and the upcoming Qualified Residential Mortgage rules that are expected to bring a lot more scrutiny to process loans have weighed on the series.
Pending home sales, considered a leading indicator for future existing home sales, have been falling sharply. This suggests that existing home sales will be ticking lower.
Existing home sales account for a larger share of the market than new homes.