Share
WASHINGTON — More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in September, a sign that the housing market is still benefiting from lower mortgage rates.
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that its pending home sales index rose 1.5% from August to September to 108.7, its highest level since December 2017. Measured year over year, pending home sales have surged 3.9%.
“It looks like the drop in mortgage rates relative to late last year has helped boost activity in the housing market,” Daniel Silver, an economist at JPMorgan Chase Bank, said in a research note.
This Month’s Pending Sales Ticked up in the Midwest and the South
Still, rising home prices, boosted by a persistent shortage of properties on the market, have limited potential sales growth. Until recently, the gap between home prices and average wage gains had been narrowing. Separate Case-Shiller home price figures released Tuesday showed that home values rose just 2% for the 12 months that ended in August, below the annual wage growth of nearly 3%.
But the NAR says there are signs that lower mortgage rates are now starting to cause prices to accelerate.
This month’s pending sales ticked up in the Midwest and the South but slipped in the pricier Northeast and West.
Pending sales are a measure of home purchases that are usually completed a month or two later.
Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption
9 hours ago
Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’
9 hours ago
Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams
10 hours ago
Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion
11 hours ago
Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact
11 hours ago
Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US
11 hours ago
Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family
11 hours ago
Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports
4 hours ago
Categories

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’
