US January pending home sales index hits an all-time low

• Prior was -5.5%
• Index 70.6 vs 74.2 prior — all time low
• Year over year transactions -5.2% vs -5.0% prior
• Prices up 4.7% y/y

This series started in 2002 and this was the worst reading ever for the index, which is remarkable given it’s gone through a housign crisis and covid.

The NAR said it was unclear if cold weather was the driver in the latest drop but that elevated home pries and higher mortgage rates are straining affordability in any case. The cold weather continued in February but there should be some relief with mortgage rates coming down a bit.

Sales were particularly hard hit in the south, with the index falling 9.2%.

This article was written by Adam Button at www.forexlive.com.