Pending Sales Growing in Three Out Of Four Regions
The recently-released Pending Home Sales Index Report (PHSI) for April 2023 was a mixed bag of results.
Pending home sales were unchanged in April from March, and down by over 20% year-over-year from 2022. However, PHSI numbers for the South, West and Midwest regions increased, with the West coming in first place.
The Midwest index improved 3.6% to 78.4 in April, down 21.4% from one year ago.
The Northeast PHSI dropped 11.3% from last month to 59.1, a decrease of 21.8% from April 2022.
The South PHSI increased 0.1% to 99.6 in April, sinking 16.7% from the prior year. This is only slightly lower than 100, which is equal to average levels of contract activity during 2001 – the first year NAR analyzed the PHSI.
The West index augmented 4.7% in April to 62.2, sliding 26.0% from April 2022.
First American economist Odeta Kushi commented that the spring housing market was struggling to gain momentum this year, as around 36% of each year's existing home sales usually take place from March to June. She also mentioned the ongoing challenge of low inventory: "You can't buy what's not for sale."
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