Hurricanes and Tight Supply Push Home-Contract Signings Near Two-Year Low

The National Association of Realtors slashed its forecast for 2017 sales after Americans signed fewer home buying contracts for the fifth consecutive month in August.

The pending home sales index declined 2.6 percent to 106.3, the lowest reading since January 2016 and 2.6 percent lower compared with August a year ago. The group cut its full-year forecast from 5.52 million home predicted at the start of the year to 5.44 million, which is down 0.2 percent from the 5.45 million sold last year.

The extreme supply-demand imbalance in the housing market has ground sales to a standstill, the Realtors believe. “This summer’s terribly low supply levels have officially drained all of the housing market’s momentum over the past year,” the group said in a statement.

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