Pending Home Sales Fall, But Still Holding Most of 2019’s Gains; Are Rates Really Under 4.00%? Yes and No

Pending Home Sales Fall, But Still Holding Most of 2019’s Gains; Are Rates Really Under 4.00%? Yes and No

April's pending home sales had been expected to build on the gains posted in two of the three previous months, but they retreated instead. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said its Pending Home Sale Index (PHSI), a measure of newly signed home purchase contracts, fell 1.5 percent from its March level. The Index, with a 104.3 reading, was down from 105.9 the previous month. The consensus of analysts surveyed by Econoday had been for an 0.5 percent increase in the PHSI. Forecasts ranged from -1.8 to 1.5 percent. Pending sales were down in three of the four major regions, and the April decline put year-over-year contract signings 2.0 percent behind those of April 2018. It was the 16 th straight month that pending sales had failed to improve on those a year earlier. The PHSI is a