U.S. pending home sales unexpectedly decline in June

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Thursday its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index (PHSI) fell 1.9 percent m-o-m to 112.8 in June, after a revised 8.3 percent m-o-m climb in May (originally an 8.0 percent m-o-m surge).

Economists had expected pending home sales to increase 0.3 percent m-o-m in June.

On y-o-y basis, the index also dropped 1.9 percent after a revised 13.1 percent jump in May (originally a 13.4 percent surge). 

According to the report, two of the four regional indices recorded m-o-m declines in June. Pending home sales transactions in the South decreased 3.0 percent m-o-m to an index of 132.4 in June, down 4.7 percent from June 2020. The PHSI in the West went down 3.8 percent m-o-m in June to 98.1, down 2.6 percent from a year prior. At the same time, the Northeast PHSI rose 0.5 percent m-o-m to 98.5 in June, an 8.7 percent advance from a year ago. The index in the Midwest grew 0.6 percent m-o-m to 108.3 last month, down 2.4 percent from June 2020.

"Pending sales have seesawed since January, indicating a turning point for the market," noted Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "Buyers are still interested and want to own a home, but record-high home prices are causing some to retreat."