By Ovunc Kutlu
ISTANBUL (AA) - US pending home sales plummeted 5.2% in March, ending a three-month increase, according to data released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
The market expectation was for the figure to show a decline of 0.5% after it rose 0.8% in February.
In December, pending home sales rose 1.1%, ending six consecutive months of a decline.
Annually, however, pending home sales were down 23.2% year-on-year, according to a NAR statement.
"The lack of housing inventory is a major constraint to rising sales," said Lawrence Yun, the association’s chief economist. "Multiple offers are still occurring on about a third of all listings, and 28% of homes are selling above list price. Limited housing supply is simply not meeting demand nationally."
"Sales in the second half of the year should be notably better than the first half as job gains continue and more favorable mortgage rates are expected. Sales of new homes are already matching 2019 pre-COVID activity and are expected to increase in 2023, largely due to plentiful inventory in this segment of the market," he added.
Pending home sales measure the change in the number of houses under contract to be sold but still awaiting the transaction. They exclude new home construction. They are considered a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings.