Pending Home Sales Data For August Comes In Worse Than Expected

Pending home sales data retreated in August and came in worst than predicted.

According to National Associate of Realtors, the pending home sales index slipped 2.4 percent to 108.5 in August compared to the revised 111.2 in July. This is 0.02 percent lower than the previous year's 108.7.

The market was expecting a gain of 1 percent in August on top of 1.3 percent recorded in the preceding month.

NAR Chief Economist, Lawrence Yun, commented, "There will be an expected seasonal decline in new listings in coming months, which could accelerate price appreciation and make finding an affordable home even more of a struggle for would-be buyers."

As a result, the economist expects existing home sales to be approximately 5.46 million in 2016 representing 2.1 percent growth over the last year. This is lower than national median existing-home price growth outlook of around 4 percent in the current year.

Following the news, SPDR S&P Homebuilders (ETF) XHB traded down by $0.05, or 0.15 percent, to $34.04.