Pending home sales decreased to a reading of 89.2 in September from an upwardly revised 93.5 in August, according to an index released Friday by the National Association of Realtors.
Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists had predicted a 90.6 reading. The August reading was initially reported as 93.4.
Year-over-year the pending homes sales index was up 1.6% in September.
Regionally, pending sales were mostly lower. The West saw a 3.7% increase, the Northeast dropped 16.8%, the South decreased 7.9%, and the Midwest slipped 0.7%.
“The month-to-month weakening in pending home sales is understandable, but because the index remains above year-ago levels it means we’re still in a broad period of stabilization,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Conditions remain mixed around the country, but markets that are showing annual sales gains include Long Island, N.Y., Boston, Minneapolis, Denver, and Washington, D.C., in addition to consistent solid gains in California and Florida.”
“Right now we’re in a recession and unemployment will increase through 2009,” he added. “Consumer spending has halted and businesses are very cautious of expanding. It is unclear by how much the global economic slowdown will dampen U.S. exports, which had been rising strongly.”
