Pending home sales index fall signals more weakness ahead – Jul. 3, 2007

So the housing market is not yet worse than a terrorist attack.

Also note that this is pending sales, and there will be more cancellations today than in 911.

Banks are tightening credit today, Greenspan flooded the economy with liquidity after 911, so this is going to get a lot worse.

Pending home sales index fall signals more weakness ahead
Reading of pending home sales sinks to lowest since September 2001, suggesting more pain for the housing market.
July 3 2007: 10:33 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Existing home sales are likely to see more declines in coming months as a key reading of pending deals fell to nearly a six-year low in May, a real estate group said Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales, which reflects homes under contract, sank to 97.7 in May from 101.2 in April. The latest reading is 13.3 percent lower than May 2006.

The index was created in 2001 to be a more forward-looking reading on home sales than the group’s existing home sales report, which charts sales at the time of closing. The pending home sales index tracks when a sales agreement is signed, generally a month or two ahead of closing.

The index was set at 100 at the start in 2001. The May reading is the weakest since September 2001, the lowest on record, when the Sept. 11 attacks hit consumer confidence. The latest reading matches the third lowest.
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