- Posted September 30, 2015
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Pending home sales fall in August according to NAR
By Josh Boak
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in August, as pending sales slumped amid broader concerns about the U.S. stock market and global economy.
The National Association of Realtors said Monday its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index fell 1.4 percent to 109.4 last month. Signed contracts to purchase homes have climbed a healthy 6.1 percent over the past 12 months, aided by steady job growth and low mortgage rates.
The August figured indicate that home sales lack the stamina to keep accelerating. Uncertainty in the financial markets and rising prices for homes are stirring doubts about affordability for many would-be buyers.
Employers have continued to hire at a steady rate in recent months, yet wage growth has been running below the increase in home prices.
The median home sales price has increased 4.7 percent over the past year, more than double the increase in average hourly pay. And people who invested their down payments savings in stocks have suffered losses since August. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has tumbled 9.2 percent since the beginning of last month.
Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases. A lag of a month or two usually exists between a contract and a completed sale.
Fewer contracts were signed in the Northeast, Midwest and South in August, while the West experienced gains.
Completed sales of existing homes also tumbled in August. They dropped 4.8 percent from the previous month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.31 million, the lowest level since April.
Published: Wed, Sep 30, 2015
headlines Oakland County
- Meet the Judges
- Phishing and Smishing and Skimming and Shimming: Nessel encourages public to watch out for common scams during NFL Draft
- 56 years later, bias case is closed: Hamtramck completes new housing
- Attorneys to explain new U.S. DOL rules
- Michigan employers, local partners spotlight Gov. Whitmer’s budget recommendations and benefits for Going PRO Talent Fund
headlines National
- New Legalese: You may have heard a deepfake, but what about ‘Twiqbal’?
- From Intake to Outcome: An in-house lawyer’s guide to matter management solutions
- 2 BigLaw firms in merger talks that could produce 1,600-lawyer firm with top 50 revenue
- Send in the paralegals
- Lawyer reprimanded after mistakenly emailing opposing counsel with plan to avoid judge’s call
- ‘I don’t play well’ judge who threatened to track down, jail misbehaving litigant gets tossed from case