US Pending Home Sales Gauge Drops to Lowest on Record
- Index of contract signings decreased 5.5% to 70.2 in July
- Falling mortgage rates should spur more sales, NAR said
Homes in Seattle, Washington.
Photographer: David Ryder/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A gauge of pending US sales of existing homes sunk in July to the lowest level on record, as high prices and borrowing costs continue to scare buyers away.
A National Association of Realtors index of contract signings fell 5.5% to 70.2 last month, the lowest in data back to 2001, the group said Thursday. The drop was larger than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists and reflected declining sales in all four major regions.