Supply is starting to build, which is leading to the cooling in prices. Total active listings are now 35% higher than they were at this time a year ago, according to Realtor.com. To put that in perspective, however, even after the recent growth, inventory is still down more than 30% from typical pre-pandemic levels.
“Some buyers think they can get a deal because they’re hearing the market is cool, and some sellers think every home will sell for top dollar no matter the condition,” said Marije Kruythoff, a Los Angeles Redfin agent, in a release. “In reality, everything depends on the house and the location.”
www.cnbc.com/2024/06/27/home-prices-begin-to-cool-as-active-listings-jump-35percent.html
Pending home sales reflect transactions where the contract has been signed for an existing-home sale, but the sale has not yet closed. Economists view it as an indicator for the direction of existing-home sales in subsequent months.
Contract signings fell to a record low, the NAR said, since it began tracking sales data since 2001. Sales also fell for the second month in a row.
The sales pace fell short of expectations on Wall Street. Economists were expecting pending home sales to fall 0.4% in May.
Transactions were down 6.6% from a year ago.
The NAR also laid out its forecast for the housing market in the months ahead. It expects the 30-year mortgage rate to remain over 6% this year, as well as in 2025, despite a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve.