U.S. Home Sales Drop Again. This is the Second-Lowest Monthly Reading in 20 years

According to the National Association of Realtors, U.S. pending home sales fell 4 percent in NovemberNAR). Although this is an increase from October’s 4.6 percent decline, it was still below the market estimate of a dip of 0.8 percent.

Year-over-year, the decline in pending home sales was 37.8 percent. This is down from the previous month’s 37 percent drop. Trading Economics forecasted a negative 32 percent print.

Pending home sales—a crucial measurement of housing activity based on signed real estate contracts for existing residential properties—recorded their second-lowest monthly figure in two decades, the NAR reported. This is also the fifth consecutive month of declines in pending homes sales.

“Pending home sales in November 2022 recorded the second-lowest monthly reading in 20 years as interest rates climbed, drastically cutting into the number of contract signings to buy a home,” Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR, said this in the report. “With mortgage rates falling throughout December, home-buying activity should inevitably rebound in the coming months and help economic growth.”

The NAR confirmed this last week existing home sales The November plunge was 7.7 per cent, or 4.09 millions units. This was a decrease from November’s negative 5.9 percent performance and the tenth consecutive monthly decline.

Looking ahead to 2023

The National Association of Home Builders, (NAHB) held their August conference. declared a recession The national real estate markets. Robert Dietz, NAHB’s chief economist, recently suggested that the housing sector could have hit a bottom. But the latest data suggests that nearly every sector has seen decade-low readings.

A house’s real estate for sale sign shows the home as being “Under Contract” Washington, D.C., November 19, 2020 (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images).

James Knightley, the chief international economist at ING, echoed this sentiment and stated that the “U.S.