And along with a monthly decline there was the 16th month of annual decreases
(10).jpg)
There was a decline in pending home sales in April according to a leading measure of contract signings.
The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index fell 1.5% from March (to a reading of 104.3) and recorded its 16th monthly year-over-year decline.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says things should begin to improve.
"Though the latest monthly figure shows a mild decline in contract signings, mortgage applications and consumer confidence have been steadily rising," he said. "It's inevitable for sales to turn higher in a few months."
One main region bucked the national trend – the Midwest gained 1.6% - while there were declines for each of the others (South down 2.5%, West and Northeast were both down 1.8%.) On a year-over-year basis, all four regions were lower: 2.4% for the Midwest, 2.1% for the Northeast, 1.8% for the South, and 1.5% for the West.
"We are seeing migration to more affordable regions, particularly in the South, where there has been recent job growth and homes are more affordable," Yun said.
Home price appreciation
Home price appreciation has been the strongest on the lower-end as inventory conditions have been consistently tight on homes priced under $250,000.
“Price conditions are soft on the upper-end, especially in high tax states like Connecticut, New York and Illinois," added Yun.
The supply of inventory for homes priced under $250,000 stood at 3.3 months in April, and homes priced $1 million and above recorded an inventory of 8.9 months in April.
.jpg)
