Updated
Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 18
US Pending Home Sales Fall 2.3% in July as West Hits Record Low
Updated
Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 18

US Pending Home Sales Fall 2.3% in July as West Hits Record Low

3 articles · Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 18

Summary

  • July pending home sales fell 2.3% from June to 71.2, tying July 2024 for the second-lowest reading on record and trailing only January’s low.
  • The West drove the weakness with a 7.7% monthly drop to a new record low, while the South fell 2.2%, the Northeast 2.0% and the Midwest 0.7%.
  • Compared with a year earlier, contract signings slipped 2.2%, and they remain 36% below July 2021 as high asking prices and 6.4%-6.7% mortgage rates keep affordability strained.
  • Pending sales point to future closed sales, but cancellations have been running high even as existing single-family home supply sits at a 10-year high, underscoring a market stuck near bust-era lows.

Insights

With 14% of contracts collapsing in July, what hidden local factors are keeping outlier cities booming despite soaring national mortgage rates?
If pent-up buyer demand remains historically high, exactly what mortgage rate drop will trigger a sudden explosion in the frozen housing market?
As the income needed to buy a home doubles, are we witnessing a healthy market correction or the end of traditional American homeownership?