Pending Home Sales Tumble To Record Low

Above, the home I bought in New Mexico. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I bought my home in New Mexico seven years ago, I couldn't have timed it better.

The price was way under $100,000 for the house on two acres. I bought it outright without the need of a mortgage loan.

Since then, prices have risen and so has the mortgage lending rate, hovering around 7%.

According to Newmax, pending home sales tumbled to a record low last month.

They begin their article with:

Contracts to buy U.S. previously owned homes plunged to a record low in January as higher mortgage rates and house prices reduced affordability for prospective buyers.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Thursday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on signed contracts, dropped 4.6% last month to 70.6, an all-time low.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast contracts, which become sales after a month or two, falling 1.3% in January. Pending home sales decreased 5.2% from a year earlier.

"It is unclear if the coldest January in 25 years contributed to fewer buyers in the market, and if so, expect greater sales activity in upcoming months," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist. "However, it's evident that elevated home prices and higher mortgage rates strained affordability."

Signed contracts fell in the Midwest, South and West, but rose slightly in the Northeast.

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