The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Wednesday its seasonally adjusted
pending home sales index (PHSI) rose by 2.0 per cent m-o-m to 77.4 in October, following an upwardly
revised 7.4 per cent m-o-m surge in September. Economists had anticipated
pending home sales to decrease by 2.0 per cent m-o-m in October.
On a y-o-y
basis, the index climbed 5.4 per cent after an unrevised 2.6 per cent gain in September. This was the strongest annual increase since May
2021 (+13.6 per cent).
According to
the report, all four regional indices - the Northeast PHSI (+4.7 per cent m-o-m and +7.2 per cent
y-o-y), the Midwest PHSI (+4.0 per cent m-o-m and +1.8 per cent y-o-y), the
South PHSI (+0.9 per cent m-o-m and +2.5 per cent y-o-y) and the West PHSI
(+0.2 per cent m-o-m and +16.8 per cent y-o-y) - posted increases both in m-o-m and y-o-y terms
in October.
Commenting on the latest report, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist,
noted that home-buying momentum is building after nearly two years of
suppressed home sales. “Even with mortgage rates modestly rising despite the
Federal Reserve's decision to cut the short-term interbank lending rate in
September, continuous job additions and more housing inventory are bringing
more consumers to the market,” he added.