Pending Home Sales in April fell 5.5%, well below expectations of flat m/o/m and comes after a cumulative gain of 16.3% in the warm fall/winter months of Oct thru Mar. Contract signings fell the sharpest in the still over inventoried areas of the South and West. Sales rose slightly in the Northeast and fell a touch in the Midwest. Bottom line, April contract signings likely reflected give back from an unusual winter and the 5.5% drop m/o/m is close to matching the fall in purchase applications within the weekly MBA data of 6.7% in April from March.
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