The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index fell 1.3 percent in July with the greatest decline in the West which fell 4.9 percent and is down 0.4 percent on a year-over-year basis despite an increase in listed inventory levels.
At the same time, the pace of closed sales ticked up 6.5 percent in July, up 13.2 percent year-over-year in the West as the Pending Home Sales Index jumped in May alongside mortgage rates.
Repeating two of our headlines from earlier this month: Home Sales Spike In San Francisco To Nine Year High In July, and Spike In Sales Due To, Rather Than Despite, A Spike In Rates.
The average 30-year rate is currently hovering around 4.5 percent. While that’s up from 3.35 percent in May (which was within four basis points of an all-time low), the 30-year fixed mortgage has averaged 6.75 percent since 1990, 8.67 percent since 1971.