🍎 🍕 Less apples, more pizza 🤔 Have you seen Buffett’s portfolio recently?Explore for Free

Pending home sales see modest rise, fall short of forecast

EditorFrank DeMatteo
Published 26/09/2024, 15:32


The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has released its latest Pending Home Sales Report, revealing a slight increase in the number of homes under contract awaiting closing transactions. The report, which excludes new construction, showed a 0.6% increase in pending home sales.

While this is a positive turn from the previous report, which saw a decrease of 5.5%, it falls short of the more optimistic forecast of 0.9%. This indicates a slower recovery in the housing market than analysts had anticipated.

The Pending Home Sales Report is a key barometer of the health of the U.S. housing market. It measures the change in the number of homes under contract to be sold but still awaiting the closing transaction. A higher than expected reading is typically seen as positive, or bullish, for the USD, while a lower than expected reading is usually taken as negative, or bearish.

Despite the lower than expected increase, the rise in pending home sales is a welcome change from the previous month's downturn. The 0.6% increase suggests that the housing market is slowly but steadily recovering, albeit at a slower pace than initially anticipated.

The 0.9% forecast had indicated a more robust recovery, but the actual figure shows that there is still some way to go before the market fully rebounds. The slower pace of recovery could be attributed to various factors, including rising mortgage rates, limited housing inventory, and economic uncertainties.

While the report falls short of expectations, it is important to note that the housing market is still on an upward trajectory. The modest increase in pending home sales is a positive sign, indicating that buyers are slowly returning to the market. However, the slower than expected growth suggests that the market still faces challenges on the road to recovery.

The next few months will be crucial in determining the pace and strength of the housing market's recovery. As the market continues to navigate these uncertain times, all eyes will be on the upcoming NAR reports to gauge the health and direction of the U.S. housing market.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.