From Yahoo.com…
Homebuying in the U.S. slowed down in the final month of 2021.
Pending home sales, a leading indicator of the health of the housing market, fell for the second straight month in December and was far slower than economists anticipated. TheNational Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks the number of homes that are under contract to be sold, dropped 3.8% in December from November and declined 6.9% from the same month a year. Activity was down across all regions in the U.S. Analysts expected a 0.4% decrease in sales from a month earlier and a 4% drop from the same month a year ago, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates.
“Pending home sales faded toward the end of 2021, as a diminished housing supply offered consumers very few options,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, in a press statement. “Mortgage rates have climbed steadily the last several weeks, which unfortunately will ultimately push aside marginal buyers.”
