Pending Home Sales Fall Slightly More than Forecast in March

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell 0.8% to 111.4 in March from 112.3 in February. Despite last month’s decrease, the index is 0.8% above a year ago.

“Home shoppers are coming out in droves this spring and competing with each other for the meager amount of listings in the affordable price range,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said. “In most areas, the lower the price of a home for sale, the more competition there is for it. That’s the reason why first-time buyers have yet to make up a larger share of the market this year, despite there being more sales overall.”

Mr. Yun said he forecasts existing-home sales to come in at roughly 5.64 million this year, an gain of 3.5% from 2016 (5.45 million). The national median existing-home price this year is forecast to gain by about 5%.

The PHSI in the Northeast fell 2.9% to 99.1 in March, though the region is still 1.8% above a year ago. In the Midwest, they fell 1.2% to 109.6 in March and is now 2.4% lower than March 2016.

Pending home sales in the South rose 1.2% to an index of 129.4 in March and are now 3.9% above last March. The index in the West fell 2.9% in March to 94.5, and is now 2.7% below a year ago.

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