By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
Pending home sales were unable to sustain the slight upward tick experienced in July and resumed their downward trend in August, declining by 2.4 percent. It was the third time in four months that pending sales have failed to exceed the previous month’s numbers.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on home purchase contracts signed, was 108.5 in August compared to 111.2 in July and at the lowest level since a reading of 105.4 in January 2016. August’s pending sales were also slightly (0.2 percent) lower than in August 2015.