According to the National Association of Realtors April Pending Homes Sales Report, sales for existing-homes took a step back following three consecutive months of increases.
The PHSI declined 5.5 percent in April but still remains 14.4 percent higher than April 2011. Pending contracts signed usually follow with closings within one or two months of the contract signing.
NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said the drop in pending sales likely isn't an indication of how the market will perform this year.
"A one-month setback in light of many months of gains does not change the fundamentally improving housing market conditions. Home contract activity has been above year-ago levels now for 12 consecutive months. The housing recovery momentum continues,” Yun said.
Meanwhile, NAR's April's Existing-Home Sales Index rose for the month of April by 3.4 percent. This brought home sales to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.62 million, 10 percent higher than April 2011's pace of 4.2 million.
Housing market inventory has been declining on a year-over-year basis and home prices have been slightly increasing, according to some market index measures. As foreclosures decline, inventory and prices are expected to slightly increase, adding to home price gains and a slowly recovering economy.
