Pending home sales in June were down by 5.4% from the prior month and down 0.3% from one year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Month-over-month pending home sales declined in all four major regions while year-over-year pending home sales increased in the Northeast and Midwest while declining in the South and West. At the local level, several major metro areas posted significant year-over-year gains in pending home sales: Virginia Beach, Virginia (+15.4%), Sacramento (+15.2%), Kansas City (+14.4%), Richmond, Virginia (+14.0%), and Buffalo, New York (+12.1%).
“The highest mortgage rates in nearly a year and the record-high national median home price together are contributing to a tepid housing market that is especially difficult for first-time homebuyers,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “However, job gains can help support housing demand. It is worth emphasizing that it is closing activity, not contract signings, that generates economic impact. Pending contracts are only suggestive of upcoming closed deals and do not align perfectly, due to fallout rates and contract contingencies.”
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