By Xavier Fontdegloria
The number of houses going under contract in the U.S. decreased again in August as rising mortgage rates weighed on demand, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday.
--The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator of home sales based on contract signings, decreased 2% on month to 88.4 in August. This is the lowest level since April 2020.
--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected the index to drop by 1.4% on month.
--Pending home sales in August were 24.2% below the same month a year earlier.
--"The direction of mortgage rates--upward or downward--is the prime mover for home buying, and decade-high rates have deeply cut into contract signings," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "If mortgage rates moderate and the economy continues adding jobs, then home buying should also stabilize," he said.
--Pending home sales declined in three of the four major U.S. regions. Transactions fell by 5.2% on month in the Midwest, followed by a 3.4% decline in the Northeast, and a 0.9% drop in the South. Contract signings increased by 1.4% in the West, the data showed.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-28-22 1014ET
