The US pending the sale of existing houses fell for a second month in July, because potential buyers shot at still increased prices and loan costs, in accordance with a slow housing market.
An index of contract signs fell 0.4% to 71.7 last month, where it remained hanging for a large part of the year, according to the Thursday released National Association of Realtors. The median estimate of the economists examined by Bloomberg was a decrease of 0.2% in July.
Read more:
Buyers have recently seen modest lighting, because the rates earlier in August to a low of four months of 6.67% fell and have stayed close to it in recent weeks. Financing costs, however, remain double what they were at the end of the year 2021, a time when many homeowners refinanced their loans to take advantage of lower rates.
“Even with modest improvements in mortgage interest, the affordability of housing and inventory, buyers still hesitantly remain hesitant,” said Nar -headcurrent Lawrence Yun in a statement.
Without a long-term decrease in mortgage interest and more favorable asking prices, previously owned home sales will be difficult to go far beyond 4 million a tempo to which they have been stuck to in the past two years.
Read more:
In the meantime, the pace of price growth has at least been moderated nationally, with only 0.2% in July from a year ago. The prices have even fallen in once hot housing markets in the west and south, where the inventory is the most structured.
“Rising mortgage applications for the purchase of home are an early indicator of more serious buyers on the market, although many have not yet committed themselves to an ongoing contract,” Yun said.
Contract signs in the south, the largest home -selling region in the country, have fallen somewhat. In anticipation of sales, also fell in the midwest and northeast, while they climb 3.7% in the west.
The sale of a hanging house is usually a leading indicator for earlier ownership of Huizen, because houses usually go under contract for a month or two before they are sold.