US: Pending home sales up in June still down from a year ago - Wells Fargo

US Pending home sales rose 0.9% in June but analyst at Wells Fargo point out that remain down 2.5% from last June. They see that sales continue to be hampered by the lack of homes for sale but the drag from low inventories may be fading.

Key Quotes: 

“Pending home sales, which measure purchase contracts for existing homes, rose 0.9 percent in June. This marks the first increase since March, although all of May’s 0.5 percent drop was concentrated in the South, which plunged 3.5 percent.”

“Pending home sales tend to lead existing home sales by one to two months, so June’s improvement bodes well for existing home sales, which measure closings, in July and August. 

“Affordability concerns have clearly cooled buyer interest but may be bringing out more sellers. Tax law changes may be contributing to rising inventories of higher-priced homes in some areas.”