Pending home sales increase 1.2 percent in November
After October’s decline, November’s pending home sales brought a welcome increase of 1.2 percent—reaching an index of 108.5—while year-over-year contract signings jumped 7.4 percent.
“Despite the insufficient level of inventory, pending home contracts still increased in November,” explains Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, pointing out that inventory has been falling for the past 6 months. “The favorable conditions are expected throughout 2020 as well, but supply is not yet meeting the healthy demand.”
The forecast for the coming year
Earlier this month, key real estate players, congressional staff and economists weighed in with predictions for the new year at the NAR Real Estate Forecast Summit—projecting the following for 2020:
- 2.0 percent GDP growth
- 3.7 percent unemployment rate
- 3.8 percent average mortgage rate
- 3.6 percent rise in home prices after 2019’s 5 percent gain
A regional breakdown
Pending home sales were up in all 4 regions in comparison to last year, though the month of November brought a mixed-bag of results.
Pending home sales index for each region:
- Northeast: Down 0.1 percent to 96.3 last month—2.6 percent higher than last year
- Midwest: Up 1.0 percent to 102.5 last month—5.0 percent higher than last year
- South: Down 0.2 percent to 125.0 last month—7.7 percent higher than last year
- West: Up 5.5 percent last month to 98.4—14.0 percent higher than last year
“Sale prices continue to rise, but I am hopeful that we will see price appreciation slow in 2020,” says Yun. “Builder confidence levels are high, so we just need housing supply to match and more home construction to take place in the coming year.”
Source: https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/pending-home-sales-expand-1-2-in-november