The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Thursday its seasonally adjusted
pending home sales index (PHSI) fell 4.9 per cent m-o-m to 74.3 in January 2024, following a downwardly revised 5.7 per cent m-o-m jump (from +8.3 per cent m-o-m)
in December 2023. This marked
the sharpest drop in pending home sales since August 2023 (-7.1 per cent
m-o-m).
Economists had expected
pending home sales to rise 1.0 per cent m-o-m in January.
On a y-o-y basis,
the index plunged 8.8 per cent after an unrevised 1.3 per cent gain in December. This was the steepest decline since September 2023 (-11.2
per cent).
According to
the report, pending home sales operations increased in the Northeast (+0.8 per
cent m-o-m) and West (+0.5 per cent m-o-m) but fell in the Midwest (-7.6 per cent m-o-m) and South (-7.3 per cent m-o-m). Compared to January 2023, all four U.S. regions posted decreases, led by the Midwest (-11.6
per cent y-o-y).
Commenting on
the latest report, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, noted that consumers
are showing extra sensitivity to changes in mortgage rates in the current
cycle, and that's impacting home sales.