The National Association of Realtors (NAR) informed on Thursday its
seasonally adjusted pending home sales index (PHSI) stayed unchanged m-o-m at 71.6 in November,
following an upwardly revised 1.2 per cent m-o-m drop (from -1.5 per cent
m-o-m) in October.
Economists had expected pending home sales to rebound 1.0 per cent m-o-m
in November.
On a y-o-y basis, the index plummeted 5.2 per cent after an unrevised 8.5 per cent tumble in October. This marked
the softest annual decrease since November 2022 (-5.2 per cent).
According to the report, three of the four
regional indices registered m-o-m gains in November and all four regions recorded
y-o-y declines.
The indicator gauging pending home sales transactions in the West demonstrated
the largest monthly increase in November, surging by 2.0 per cent m-o-m. On a
y-o-y basis, the West PHSI, however, declined by 4.9 per cent. The Northeast PHSI
increased by 0.8 per cent m-o-m but fell by 6.4 per cent y-o-y. The Midwest PHSI
rose by 0.5 per cent m-o-m but contracted by 2.2 per cent y-o-y. Meanwhile, the
South PHSI was the only indicator that showed a monthly decline, decreasing 2.3
per cent m-o-m. In the y-o-y terms, it dropped by 6.5 per cent.
Commenting on the latest report, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist,
noted that although declining mortgage rates did not induce more homebuyers to
submit formal contracts in November, it had sparked a surge in interest, as
evidenced by a higher number of lockbox openings. “With mortgage rates falling
further in December - leading to savings of around $300 per month from the
recent cyclical peak in rates - home sales will improve in 2024," he
added.