WASHINGTON, July 3 (UPI) -- Sales of previously owned U.S. homes dropped 3.5 percent from the previous month, a U.S. real estate industry group said Tuesday.
The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of existing homes fell to 97.7 from April's downwardly revised 101.2 figure.
The index, based on signed contracts for used homes, was 13.3 percent lower than May 2006's 112.7 level.
"Some transactions are being postponed from mortgage-market disruptions," NAR economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement. "But better supervised lending will put housing in a fundamentally healthier state over the long term."
He said home sales "should stay close to present levels in the months ahead, given an accumulating pent-up demand."
By region, the U.S. Northeast showed a 3.8 percent increase but was still down 9.6 percent from May 2006. The West rose 5.6 percent but remained 13.7 percent lower than a year earlier.
Midwest sales dropped 8.9 percent and were down 11.7 percent from the previous May. The South saw a 7.6 percent drop and a 15.4 percent decline over the year before.
