a miss: Pending Home Sales Index
Released On 10/28/2013 10:00:00 AM For Sep, 2013
Prior Prior Revised Consensus Consensus Range Actual
Pending Home Sales Index - Level 107.7 107.6 101.6
Pending Home Sales Index - M/M -1.6 % -1.6 % 0.0 % -2.0 % to 3.5 % -5.6 %
Highlights
The housing market is supposed to be a center of strength for the economy but one couldn't tell from the pending home sales report which has been down, not up, for 4 months in a row. Pending home sales fell to an index level of 101.6 vs 107.6 in August for a very sharp 5.6 percent decline. Details show declines across all regions.
Year-on-year, the index is down 1.2 percent for the first negative reading in nearly 2-1/2 years. The National Association of Realtors (NAR), which compiles the report, cites as a major factor the government shutdown which it says pushed government workers and contractors to the sidelines of the housing market.
Final sales of existing home sales had been slightly stronger than pending home sales but not by much, and the NAR says today's report points to no better than a flat trend for final sales through the 4th quarter. One important factor constraining sales has been the rise underway in home prices, the result of thin supply on the market. Case-Shiller data on home prices will be posted on the Econoday calendar tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. ET. Markets are little changed following today's results.
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