Pending Home Sales Down in June, Signs of Further Cooldown

Overall pending home sales dipped last month in the U.S., the latest of several signs that the housing market is potentially cooling down after more than a year of nonstop frenzy.

Pending sales “decreased 1.9% in June from the prior month and from one year ago,” the National Association of Realtors said in a Thursday press release.

The decline was not nationally uniform month-over-month; signings “rose in the Northeast and Midwest but fell in the South and West,” the association said. Year-over-year the drop was more pronounced, where “only the Northeast region saw an increase in contract signings.”

“Pending sales have seesawed since January, indicating a turning point for the market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in the release. “Buyers are still interested and want to own a home, but record-high home prices are causing some to retreat.”

“The Midwest region offers the most affordable costs for a home,” Yun added, “and hence that region has seen better sales activity compared to other areas in recent months.”

There have been some signs of market slowdown throughout July, although home prices still remain sharply elevated; as Yun pointed out, the high prices in some cases have caused buyers to drop their search for a home at least for the time being.