Contract signings to buy homes in U.S. fall for second time in 2015

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- The number of contractual agreements to purchase previously owned homes in the United States abruptly fell during the month of August for the second time this year, realty officials said Monday.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that an index of pending home sales decreased nearly 1.5 percent after a half-percent boost in July.

The association noted a modest increase in the West, but said contract signings declined in all other regions.

The association uses the Pending Home Sales Index -- an indicator of housing activity, measures housing contract activity, and is based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops.

Despite the August decline, the NAR noted a "healthy" increase of pending home sales over the last 12 months. Last month's contracts rose 6 percent over those in August 2014, officials said.

"Pending sales have leveled off since mid–summer, with buyers being bounded by rising prices and few available and affordable properties within their budget," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. "Even with existing–housing supply barely budging all summer and no relief coming from new construction, contract activity is still higher than earlier this year and a year ago."

Yun noted that there may be some more difficulty in the housing market before the end of the year, due to a potential government shutdown, instability in the equity market, and changes to the mortgage closing process next month.