Having dropped 1.3 percent in April, the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, for which 100 denotes “an average level” of activity, slipped another 0.5 percent in May to 105.9, which is now 2.2 lower on a year-over-year basis overall and 5.7 percent below last year’s high of 112.3.
At the same time, the inventory of unsold homes listed for sale across the nation ticked up 2.8 percent to 1.85 million at the end of May but remains 6.1 percent lower versus the same time last year.
And out West, while the Pending Home Sale Index inched up 0.6 percent to 94.7, it remains below average and 4.1 percent lower on a year-over-year basis.