NEW YORK - Pending home sales grew 4.3% to a reading of 82.3 in August from a revised 4.5% increase to 78.9 in July, originally reported as a 5.2% gain 79.4, according to an index released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.
Thomson Reuters’ poll of economists had predicted an 81.4 reading.
Year-over-year the pending homes sales index was down 20.1% from last August, when the index was 103.0.
Regionally, pending sales were mostly higher. The Northeast saw a 2.9% decrease to 60.6, while sales rose 2.1% to 68.0 in the Midwest. In the South sales climbed 6.7% to 90.8, while in the West, pending sales gained 6.4% to 101.1.
“Attractive affordability conditions from very low mortgage interest rates appear to be bringing buyers back to the market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “However, the pace of a home sales recovery still depends more on job creation and an accompanying rise in consumer confidence,” he said.
“Current low consumer price inflation has helped keep mortgage interest rates very attractive this year. However, recent rising trends in producer prices at the intermediate and early stages of production, along with very high commodity prices, are raising concerns about future inflation and future mortgage interest rates. Higher inflation would mean higher mortgage interest rates. In the meantime, housing affordability is hovering near record highs,” Yun said.
