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Pending home sales rise less than expected
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Pending home sales rose 0.2% in June, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Lean housing inventory continued to slow contract signings everywhere except in the Northeast.
Year-over-year, pending sales rose 0.3%, not seasonally adjusted.
Economists had forecast that pending sales rose 1.2% month-on-month, according to Bloomberg. They forecast that year-on-year, and not seasonally adjusted, sales rose 3%.
Pending sales are based on signed contracts for existing single-family homes, condos and coops, and are a leading indicator of the housing market.
"Unfortunately for prospective buyers trying to take advantage of exceptionally low mortgage rates, housing inventory at the end of last month was down almost 6 percent from a year ago, and home prices are showing little evidence of slowing to a healthier pace that more closely mirrors wage and income growth," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in the release.
"Limited selection of homes at bargain prices is reducing the number of individual investors willing or able to buy."
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