By Joshua Kirby
The number of houses going under contract slipped in May as high interest rates dampened demand. Here are the main takeaways from the National Association of Realtors' report released Thursday:
--The pending home sales index, a leading indicator of home sales based on contract signings, fell 2.1% to 70.8 in May from 72.3 in April. A reading of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the index to fall less sharply, by 0.4%.
--"The market is at an interesting point, with rising inventory and lower demand," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.
--Lower mortgage rates will boost home-buying ahead, Yun said. Nevertheless, the NAR expects mortgage rates to remain above 6% this year and next, even with interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
--Compared with a year ago, pending sales were down 6.6%.
--"The first half of the year did not meet expectations regarding home sales but exceeded expectations related to home prices," Yun said. "In the second half of 2024, look for moderately lower mortgage rates, higher home sales and stabilizing home prices."
Write to Joshua Kirby at joshua.kirby@wsj.com; @joshualeokirby
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-27-24 1014ET
