- The
National Association of Realtors ' index of pendingUS home sales fell 1.1% to 128.9 in October, according to $4 published Monday. - Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the gauge to rise 1% through the month. The reading also marks a second straight decline.
- The
housing market has served as a rare bright spot in the nation's economy, but rising prices and limited supply threaten the strength seen in recent months. - "This recent weakening suggests that existing home sales—which generally lag
pending home sales by one or two months—will soften moving forward," Daniel Silver, an economist at $4, said. - $4.
Sales of previously owned homes in the US fell for a second straight month in October, signaling that the housing boom seen throughout the pandemic may be slowing.
The National Association of Realtors' index of pending
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the gauge to climb 1% through October.
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"This recent weakening suggests that existing home sales—which generally lag pending home sales by one or two months—will soften moving forward," Daniel Silver, an economist at $4, said in a note. "All that said, the recent cooling in the pending home sales data has reversed only a small portion of the surge reported over the prior few months."
Pending sales fell or stayed the same in all regions but the South, where they ticked just 0.1% higher. The Northeast saw the biggest decline, with the region's index dropping 5.9% to its lowest level since July.
The unexpected pullback suggests rising home prices and limited supply is starting to impede the housing market's rally. The sector has served as a rare bright spot in the weakened economy, largely due to record-low interest rates driving the rate of purchases higher.
Sales of new and previously owned homes surged through the pandemic, but with homebuilders struggling to keep up, higher prices pose a risk to the buying spree.
"The housing market is still hot, but we may be starting to see rising home prices hurting affordability," Lawrence Yun,
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