U.S. pending home sales unexpectedly decrease in November

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Wednesday its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index (PHSI) fell 2.6 percent m-o-m to 125.7 in November, after a revised 0.9 percent m-o-m decline in October (originally a 1.1 percent m-o-m drop). This marked the third consecutive monthly drop in the value of the index.

Economists had expected pending home sales to be flat m-o-m in November.

On y-o-y basis, the index jumped 16.4 percent, following an unrevised 20.2 percent climb in October.

According to the report, all four regional indices recorded month-over-month increases in November, but remained higher on a year-over-year basis.

The index in the West plunged 4.7 percent m-o-m to in November to 111.3, which is up 10.4 percent from November 2019. The Northeast PHSI fell 3.3 percent m-o-m to 108.6 in November, a 15.3 percent increase from a year ago. In the Midwest, the index dropped 3.1 percent m-o-m to 115.9 last month, up 14.1 percent from November 2019. Pending home sales in the South declined 1.1 percent m-o-m to an index of 150.0 in November, up 21.3 percent from a year ago.

"The latest monthly decline is largely due to the shortage of inventory and fast-rising home prices," noted Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. "It is important to keep in mind that the current sales and prices are far stronger than a year ago."