Pre-Owned Home Contracts Down in April

Previously owned home contracts took a surprising tumble in April, matching December 2011 numbers but still improving year-over-year.

Contracts for previously owned homes fell in April to an unexpected four-month low, though the figures are still up from the lows reached in 2011.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported May 30 that its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts to purchase signed the previous month, fell 5.5 percent in April to 95.5, the lowest since December. March?EUR??,,????'???s index, though downwardly revised, increased 3.8 percent.

Despite the slowdown, signed contracts were up 14.4 percent compared to April 2011. Economists had expected contracts signed, a typical predictor of home sales, to grow by 0.1 percent after the March gains, according to a Reuters poll. Only the Northeast saw a marginal increase in contracts, and the biggest fall-off was in the West, dropping 12 percent from the previous month.

Applications for home mortgages have also fallen slightly, despite record low mortgage rates. The Mortgage Bankers Association?EUR??,,????'???s index of application activity decreased 1.3 percent in the week that ended May 25. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index, however, has home prices up for the second consecutive month in March, pointing the stagnant housing market in the right direction, though the recovery remains slow.