US DATA: Apr NAR pending home sales index dropped 11.6% to 81.9 and
is now -26.5% yoy. This reflects contracts but not closings, which
normally occur with a lag time of one or two months. NAR blames
‘temporary’ factors such as rising oil prices, severe weather, and a
rise in unemployment claims. PHS in the Northeast rose 1.7 percent to
64.5 in April but is 33.4 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the
index fell 10.4 percent to 74.1 and is 30.2 percent below April 2010.
Pending home sales in the South dropped 17.2 percent to an index of 91.3
in April and are 27.0 percent below a year ago. In the West the index
declined 8.9 percent to 89.1 and is 16.9 percent below April 2010.