October 2018 Pending Home Sales
- NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that October’s pending home sales pace was down 2.6 percent last month and fell 6.7 percent from a year ago.
- Pending sales represent homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend to lead existing-home sales data by 1 to 2 months.
- All four regions showed declines from a year ago. The West had the biggest drop in sales of 15.3 percent. The Midwest fell 4.9 percent followed by the South with a decline of 4.6 percent. The Northeast had the smallest dip in sales of 2.9 percent.
- From last month, three of the four regions showed declines in sales. The West region had the biggest drop of 8.9 percent. The Midwest fell 1.8 percent followed by the South with a dip of 1.1 percent. The only region with an incline in sales was the Northeast, which had a modest gain of 0.7 percent.
- The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month was 102.1. September’s data was revised up to 104.8.
- In spite of the decline, this is the pending index’s 54th consecutive month over the 100 level.
- The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with a healthy market and existing-home sales above the 5 million mark.
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