Investing.com - Pending home sales in the U.S. fell unexpectedly in June, dampening optimism over the health of the housing sector, industry data showed on Monday.
In a report, the National Association of Realtors said its pending home sales index declined by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.5% gain. Pending home sales in May rose by 6.1%.
Year-on-year, pending home sales fell at annualized rate of 4.5% in June, compared to expectations for a decline of 5.2%.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the housing market is stabilizing, but ongoing challenges are impeding full sales potential.
“Activity is notably higher than earlier this year as prices have moderated and inventory levels have improved,” he said.
“However, supply shortages still exist in parts of the country, wages are flat, and tight credit conditions are deterring a higher number of potential buyers from fully taking advantage of lower interest rates,” Yun added.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.05% to trade at 1.3436.
Meanwhile, U.S. equity markets were lower after the open. The Dow dipped 0.3%, the S&P 500 declined 0.3%, while the NASDAQ Composite shed 0.25%.