
New information from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) shows that pending home sales remained flat in July.
The NAR's Pending Home Sales Index rose just 0.5 percent in last month to 110.9, up from just 110.4 in June. July's result was the third highest index reading of 2015, behind April and May, which were at 111.6 and 112.3, respectively.
Despite the modest month-over-month increase, July's index rating was 7.4 percent higher than the same month last year. With last month's result, year-over-year index values have now increased for 11 straight months.
Though he said July's figures bode well for existing home sales to remain at their current pace through the end of the summer, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun attributed the flat numbers to a lack of inventory on the market.
"While demand and sales continue to be stronger than earlier this year, Realtors® have reported since the spring that available listings in affordable price ranges remain elusive for some buyers trying to reach the market and are likely holding back sales from being more robust," Yun said in a statement.
With the inventory conditions likely to remain the same into the fall, Yun expects the national median price for existing homes to rise by 6.3 percent to $221,400 by the end of the year and for existing home sales in 2015 to come in at 5.29 million, a 7.1 percent increase from 2014 but about 25 percent lower than a decade ago.
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