Pending home sales in May, measuring contracts signed of existing homes, rose 1.1% m/o/m as expected. Sales in the Northeast rebounded by 3.5% after 3 straight months of declines. Sales also were in the Midwest but flat down South and lower out West. See the chart below for where the actual index stands. I also included a chart of sales in the Northeast in light of the impact of the SALT deduction cap I keep talking about.
Bottom line, I’ll again describe the Spring transaction season as just ok, not great. Lower mortgage rates are a clear positive but still not enough to offset years of persistent 5-6% home price gains and the competition now seen from investors paying all cash.
PENDING HOME SALES INDEX
PENDING HOME SALES in the NORTHEAST