Pending Home Sales Index Rises
August 27 2015 - 10:40AM
Dow Jones News
WASHINGTON—A forward-looking gauge of U.S. home sales edged up
slightly in July, but remained well above year-ago levels, a sign
of steady momentum in the housing market.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday its pending
home sales index, which is based on signings for purchases of
previously owned homes, rose 0.5% to a seasonally-adjusted 110.9 in
July, from an upwardly revised reading of 110.4 in June.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 1%
rise in July. Home sales typically close within a couple of months
after signing.
The index rose 7.4% in July from a year earlier, the 11th
consecutive annual increase.
"Led by a solid gain in the Northeast, contract activity in most
of the country held steady last month, which bodes well for
existing-sales to maintain their recent elevated pace to close out
the summer," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors'
group.
But Mr. Yun also warned that "available listings in affordable
price ranges remain elusive for some buyers trying to reach the
market and are likely holding back sales from being more
robust."
News Corp, owner of The Wall Street Journal, also owns Move
Inc., which operates a website and mobile products for the National
Association of Realtors.
Other recent data point to a healthy pickup in activity in the
housing market this summer.
The pace of completed existing-home sales increased 2% last
month from June, the strongest since February 2007, NAR said last
week in a separate report. And sales of new homes in July were 21%
higher than a year earlier.
Home-building also increased last month, thanks to a surge in
construction of single-family homes, according to data from the
Commerce Department. Builder sentiment is the highest it has been
in a decade.
Stronger job gains have also helped build momentum in the
housing market. And interest rates remain at historical lows,
despite ticking up in recent months.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was
4.05% in July, according to Freddie Mac, the highest it has been
since November 2014.
Recent stock-market volatility could cause some buyers to delay
buying a home out of an abundance of caution, Mr. Yun said, but
overall the prospects for continued strength in the housing market
"remain intact for now."
According to Thursday's report, pending home sales rose 4% in
the Northeast and 0.6% in the South. They fell by 1.4% in the West,
and were unchanged in the Midwest.
Write to Kate Davidson at kate.davidson@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 27, 2015 10:25 ET (14:25 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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