Pending home sales slid 2.2 percent in September, a minor decline after posting four consecutive months of growth, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. All four major U.S. regions recorded notable YoY increases, but only the Northeast posted month-over-month gains in pending home sales transactions.
According to the realtor.com® Housing Market Recover Index, the following markets showed the greatest recovery as of Oct. 10: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash.; Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.; Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev.; and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif.
Regional Breakdown:
Northeast
+2.0% MoM – Now 119.4 PHSI
+27.7% YoY
Midwest
-3.2% MoM – Now 120.5 PHSI
+18.5% YoY
South
-3.0% MoM – Now 150.1 PHSI
+19.6% YoY
West
-2.6% MoM – 116.8 PHSI
+19.3% YoY
“The demand for home-buying remains super strong, even with a slight monthly pullback in September, and we’re still likely to end the year with more homes sold overall in 2020 than in 2019,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “With persistent low mortgage rates and some degree of a continuing jobs recovery, more contract signings are expected in the near future.”
“Additionally, a second-order demand will steadily arise as homeowners who had not considered moving before the pandemic begin to enter the market,” Yun added. “A number of these owners are contemplating moving into larger homes in less densely populated areas in light of new-found work-from-home flexibility.”
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