Pending Home Sales Plunge to Three-Year Lows; Rates Avoid Setting Another High; Homeownership Trade-Off Getting Expensive

Pending home sales took a deep dive in January, falling to their lowest level in over three years . The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator of existing home sales, fell 4.7 percent to 104.6. The December index, which had represented an 0.5 percent increase from November, was revised down from 110.1 to 109.8. The January loss put pending sales 3.8 percent behind the pace in January 2017 and at its lowest level since October 2014. Analysts had expected the index, which is based on contracts to purchase an existing home, to increase slightly from the previous month. The range of estimates from those polled by Econoday ranged from -0.2 percent to 0.8 percent. The consensus was 0.3 percent. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist

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http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/reports/newsletter/2018/2/28/3247