The National Association of Realtors' leading indicator of future home sales slipped 1.3% in July, after rising the two previous months, which does not bode well for closings in August and September.
Processing Content
The Realtors' index is based on contracts signed in July, but the mortgages generally do not close for another 30 to 60 days.
The trade group said roughly 16% of sales contracts are canceled before closing — generally because of low appraisals. In June, the pending sales index rose 2.3%, but then actual sales of single-family existing home sales fell 3.5% in July.
