The numbers: U.S. pending-home gross sales rose in Could by 0.7%, in keeping with the month-to-month index launched Monday by the Nationwide Affiliation of Realtors.
Analysts polled by the Wall Road Journal had forecast the pending house gross sales index to drop by 4%.
This enhance breaks a six-month decline, and comes as mortgage charges proceed to rise.
Key particulars: In contrast with a yr earlier, transactions have been down 13.6%. Regionally, the index jumped probably the most in Northeast, and fell within the Midwest and West.
Huge image: The rise will not be more likely to change economists’ grim forecast for the housing market.
The index displays transactions the place the contract has been signed for an existing-home sale, however the sale has not but closed. Economists view it as an indicator for the route of existing-home gross sales in subsequent months.
“Regardless of the small acquire in pending gross sales from the prior month, the housing market is clearly present process a transition,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun mentioned. “Contract signings are down sizably from a yr in the past due to a lot greater mortgage charges.”
What are they saying? “It’s a fairly small bounce after six straight declines, so it doesn’t change the story that the housing market is about for a more difficult yr forward as a result of poor affordability and anticipated slower job development,” Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, informed MarketWatch.
Market response: The Dow Jones Industrial Common and the S&P 500 have been each barely decrease in early buying and selling on Monday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury notice rose barely to three.18%.
