The association’s chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement accompanying the release that a “wait-and-see” approach appeared to be taking hold as buyers look ahead to the potential economic impact of the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for November 5.
He highlighted the New England region as one of the few causes for optimism in the national market, with that area performing “relatively better” than others in recent months.
The South and Midwest fared particularly poorly in the latest pending homes data, with their PHSIs falling by 11.5% and 11.4% respectively on a year-over-year basis. The West retreated by 6% compared with July 2023, while the Northeast posted a mild yearly increase – but fell by 1.4% from the prior month.
Overall mortgage applications are faring little better, with this week’s data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showing that application volume across the country inched upwards by just 0.5% last week.
The sluggish pace of activity continued despite a further drop in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate to 6.44%, the fourth week in a row that rates have fallen.
