Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Pending Home Sales Reached a 21-Month High in September
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 29, 2019

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
Home buying has grown more affordable thanks to steadily dropping mortgage rates. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.75, according to Freddie Mac. That’s down nearly a full percentage point from November 2018.
“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.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

DON'T MISS

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

DON'T MISS

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

DON'T MISS

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

DON'T MISS

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

DON'T MISS

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

UP NEXT

Trump Amplifies Outlandish Robot Biden Conspiracy Theory

UP NEXT

American Doctors Are Moving to Canada To Escape the Trump Administration

UP NEXT

Loretta Swit, Emmy-winner Who Played Houlihan on Pioneering TV Series ‘M.A.S.H.,’ Has Died at 87

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Trump Pardons Tax Cheat After Mother Attends $1 Million Dinner

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

5 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

5 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

6 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

6 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

6 hours ago

Trump Threatens Musk’s Government Deals as Feud Explodes Over Tax-Cut Bill

6 hours ago

Fresno Police Want Your Tips to Solve Taylor Washington Homicide

8 hours ago

Derek Carr Explains Mysterious Retirement. He Didn’t Want to ‘Just Take the Saints’ Money’

9 hours ago

What Do Valley Leaders Say About Trump’s Threat to Yank High-Speed Rail Funding?

9 hours ago

Were Cuts in Rooftop Solar Payments Legal? CA Supreme Court Hears Arguments

9 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

The nonprofit supporting Fresno State’s ag specialty college unveiled its first corporate sponsor Thursday supporting students and tea...

4 hours ago

4 hours ago

Fresno State’s Ag College Is Growing. A New Corporate Sponsor Will Help Them

5 hours ago

Trump Compares Russia and Ukraine to Children Fighting

5 hours ago

Trump Administration Imposes Sanctions on Four ICC Judges in Unprecedented Move

5 hours ago

SpaceX Will Decommission Dragon Spacecraft, Musk Says as Feud With Trump Escalates

5 hours ago

Erika Sandoval Gets Life Sentence in Notorious Tulare County Murder

6 hours ago

Israeli Military Strikes Beirut’s Southern Suburbs

6 hours ago

We Are Being Governed by the Trump Organization Inc.

Webster, GV Wire's Adoptable Pet of the Week, June 5, 2025
6 hours ago

Wondrous Webster Has the Makings of a Wonderful Family Member

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend