October 2011 Market Pulse
October 2011 Market Pulse
Existing-Home Sales Rate For July
4.7 million
This is a seasonally adjusted annual rate, which is the actual rate of sales for the month, multiplied by 12 and adjusted for seasonal sales differences.
Pending Home Sales Index For July
89.7
This index measures housing contract activity. An index of 100 is equal to the level of activity during 2001, the benchmark year.
Source: NAR Research
Lender Rules Keep Sales Down
The best affordability conditions in decades aren’t enough to push up home sales, as lenders’ overly tight underwriting requirements continue to place a drag on markets. Existing-home sales dipped 3.5 percent in July to 4.67 million units, while NAR’s forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index also dipped, by 1.3 percent. Even so, sales are considerably higher than the same time last year.
Mixed Outlook for Sales
Practitioner confidence in the strength of the housing market was mixed in July despite the best affordability conditions in years. Overly tight lender underwriting requirements are likely behind practitioners’ uncertainty over conditions.
Results are based on 4,501 responses to 6,000 surveys sent to large and small real estate offices. The survey asks practitioners to indicate whether conditions are strong (100 points), moderate (50), or weak (0). Responses are averaged to derive results.
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