(RTTNews) - A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed pending home sales in the U.S. rebounded modestly in the month of August.
NAR said its pending home sales index climbed by 0.6 percent to 70.6 in August after plunging by 5.5 percent to 70.2 in July.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
"A slight upward turn reflects a modest improvement in housing affordability, primarily because mortgage rates descended to 6.5% in August," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.
He added, "However, contract signings remain near cyclical lows even as home prices keep marching to new record highs."
The rebound by pending home sales partly reflected strong growth in the Midwest and West, with pending home sales in both regions surging by 3.2 percent.
Pending home sales in the South also inched up by 0.1 percent during the month, while pending home sales in the Northeast tumbled by 4.6 percent.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed new home sales in the U.S. pulled back sharply in the month of August.
The Commerce Department said new home sales plunged by 4.7 percent to an annual rate of 716,000 in August after soaring by 10.3 percent to a revised rate of 751,000 in July.
Economists had expected new home sales to tumble by 5.3 percent to a rate of 700,000 from the 739,000 originally reported for the previous month.
The upwardly revised rate for July was the highest since new home sales hit an annual rate of 781,000 in February 2022.
