The last of the October numbers are in with the National Association of Realtors reporting that pending home sales were down 1.5 percent nationally. Month over month, contract signings intensified in the Northeast but were down in the Midwest, South and West.
Year over year, pending transactions declined 8.5 percent.
“During October, mortgage rates were at their highest, and contract signings for existing homes were at their lowest in more than 20 years,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. “Recent weeks’ successive declines in mortgage rates will help qualify more home buyers, but limited housing inventory is significantly preventing housing demand from fully being satisfied. Multiple offers, of course, yield only one winner, with the rest left to continue their search.”
Out here in the West, the pending sales index fell 6 percent in October to 51.8, down 10.8 percent from October 2022.