Pending Home Sales pause in May

From CNBC:

Pending home sales down 3.7%, marking first annual drop in two years

The final push of the spring housing season turned out weaker than expected. Signed contracts to buy existing homes fell 3.7 percent in May compared to April, according to the National Association of Realtors.

April’s reading was revised down. These so-called pending home sales were 0.2 percent lower than May of 2015, the first annual drop since August of 2014.

“With demand holding firm this spring and homes selling even faster than a year ago, the notable increase in closings in recent months took a dent out of what was available for sale in May and ultimately dragged down contract activity,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. “Realtors are acknowledging with increasing frequency lately that buyers continue to be frustrated by the tense competition and lack of affordable homes for sale in their market.”

That competition has pushed home prices higher faster than expected and far faster than income growth. Prices have reached new peaks in seven major metropolitan markets (Denver, Dallas, Portland Oregon, San Francisco, Seattle, Charlotte, and Boston), according to the latest report from S&P/Case-Shiller. Homes are also spending far less time on the market, averaging just 30 days in May, compared to 40 days a year ago.

Regionally, pending home sales in the Northeast dropped 5.3 percent for the month and are now unchanged from a year ago. In the Midwest sales slipped 4.2 percent in May, and are 1.8 percent below May 2015. Sales in the South declined 3.1 percent for the month but are 0.6 percent higher than last May. The West saw a 3.4 percent monthly drop, and sales are 0.1 percent below a year ago.

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68 Responses to Pending Home Sales pause in May

  1. grim says:

    Dumped the X3 – picked up an HR-V.

    167,000 miles, 12 years old, was a good run.

  2. 1987 condo says:

    Grim, good luck with new car!

    Need some info, I am giving one of my cars to my son before he transports it to Cali. What is the DMV protocol…..sign over title, return plates, re-register..can we do all in 1 trip to DMV? Thx

  3. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    Guaranteed to piss off anon

    http://thefederalist.com/2016/06/29/concealed-carrier-prevents-mass-shooting-at-sc-nightclub/

    You won’t hear about this on CNN, MSNBC, or from NYT. You’re welcome

  4. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    yes, pissed off. Go Subi!

    grim says:
    June 30, 2016 at 6:04 am
    Dumped the X3 – picked up an HR-V.

    167,000 miles, 12 years old, was a good run.

  5. Ottoman says:

    Your anecdata is compelling. Of course there were good guys with guns at Orlando, the Oregon campus shooting, and Gabby Giffords shooting and all were unable to stop the shooting. In the Giffords case, the good guy almost murdered an innocent man, just like this guy in the article I link to who “stopped” a carjacking by putting a bullet in the car owners head.

    The “good guy” in your story is lucky no one shot at him too. BTW, no good guys with guns at Fort Hood? You really are a simpleton.

    http://www.rawstory.com/2015/09/texas-good-guy-with-a-gun-shoots-carjacking-victim-in-head-then-runs-away/

    Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:
    June 30, 2016 at 7:42 am

    “Guaranteed to piss off anon

    http://thefederalist.com/2016/06/29/concealed-carrier-prevents-mass-shooting-at-sc-nightclub/

    You won’t hear about this on CNN, MSNBC, or from NYT. You’re welcome”

  6. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    “Bush” new bio (Simon & Schuster)

    Jean Edward Smith’s biography of George W. Bush first sentence:

    “Rarely in the history of the United States has the nation been so ill-served as during the presidency of George W. Bush”

  7. D-FENS says:

    BREAKING: ISIS Terrorists Used Obama’s ‘Fast and Furious’ Gun During Paris Attack!

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2016/06/breaking-isis-terrorists-used-obamas-fast-furious-gun-paris-attack/

    Let’s see how the Obama administration tries to explain this one away….

  8. D-FENS says:

    http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/2016/06/law-enforcement-sources-gun-used-paris-terrorist-attacks-came-phoenix/

    Law Enforcement Sources: Gun Used in Paris Terrorist Attacks Came from Phoenix

    One of the guns used in the November 13, 2015 Paris terrorist attacks came from Phoenix, Arizona where the Obama administration allowed criminals to buy thousands of weapons illegally in a deadly and futile “gun-walking” operation known as “Fast and Furious.”

    A Report of Investigation (ROI) filed by a case agent in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) tracked the gun used in the Paris attacks to a Phoenix gun owner who sold it illegally, “off book,” Judicial Watch’s law enforcement sources confirm. Federal agents tracing the firearm also found the Phoenix gun owner to be in possession of an unregistered fully automatic weapon, according to law enforcement officials with firsthand knowledge of the investigation.

    The investigative follow up of the Paris weapon consisted of tracking a paper trail using a 4473 form, which documents a gun’s ownership history by, among other things, using serial numbers. The Phoenix gun owner that the weapon was traced back to was found to have at least two federal firearms violations—for selling one weapon illegally and possessing an unregistered automatic—but no enforcement or prosecutorial action was taken against the individual. Instead, ATF leaders went out of their way to keep the information under the radar and ensure that the gun owner’s identity was “kept quiet,” according to law enforcement sources involved with the case. “Agents were told, in the process of taking the fully auto, not to anger the seller to prevent him from going public,” a veteran law enforcement official told Judicial Watch.

  9. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    from same book, W graduated Harvard Biz School…

    “energetic, but ill-informed, untutored, and unread.”

  10. D-FENS says:

    Quite literally….a smoking gun.

  11. Anon E. Moose says:

    Otto [5];

    As infrequently as you grace us with your presence, it’s nice that you so thoroughly display your ignorance when you do.

    BTW, no good guys with guns at Fort Hood? You really are a simpleton.

    Here are the rules on carrying firearms on Fort Hood (WashPost, Apr 2, 2014)

    Soldiers on all military installations, including Fort Hood, are not armed while on post, nor are they permitted to carry any privately owned firearms. Only law enforcement and security personnel are allowed to have weapons on post.

    So basically, on Fort Hood you were about as likely to find “good guys with guns” as you are in Chicago, owing to strict and similar prohibitions on firearms. Are you familiar with current rate of gun deaths in Obama’s hometown, where Obama’s former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is currently mayor? Simpleton, indeed.

    “Simpleton” must have been the word of the week from Daily Kos/Democratic Underground. You leftists can’t help but read the stage directions.

  12. D-FENS says:

    Congrats. Best of luck w/ it.

    Is it roomy?

    My concern in buying a subcompact crossover was that I’d be miserably cramped in it.

    grim says:
    June 30, 2016 at 6:04 am
    Dumped the X3 – picked up an HR-V.

    167,000 miles, 12 years old, was a good run.

  13. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [5] footrest

    “BTW, no good guys with guns at Fort Hood? You really are a simpleton.”

    No, they’re weren’t. Army personnel aren’t allowed to carry on base unless involved in exercises. No one at the Med Center was armed.

    As for guns in other locales, yes the Orlando shooter did get by an armed guard. As for AZ, your definition of “murder” under those circumstances is as hazy as the rest of your arguments. But what is clear is that your premise supposes that we must agree to be victims. Well, I did hear an NJ judge say exactly that once. But since I don’t have to agree, I don’t.

  14. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [9] twitiot

    ““energetic, but ill-informed, untutored, and unread.”

    Well then, you’ve much in common.

  15. D-FENS says:

    http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a272176.pdf

    Ottoman says:
    June 30, 2016 at 8:04 am
    Your anecdata is compelling. Of course there were good guys with guns at Orlando, the Oregon campus shooting, and Gabby Giffords shooting and all were unable to stop the shooting. In the Giffords case, the good guy almost murdered an innocent man, just like this guy in the article I link to who “stopped” a carjacking by putting a bullet in the car owners head.

    The “good guy” in your story is lucky no one shot at him too. BTW, no good guys with guns at Fort Hood? You really are a simpleton.

  16. D-FENS says:

    15 – To be fair, that directive was issued under the first Bush administration…and implemented under the Clinton administration.

  17. Captain Nom Deplume, Besotted Rummy says:

    [16] DFENS

    It’s a workplace restriction. Few in the 2A community take issue with that although in hindsight, it seems to have caused unintended consequences. Here you have a population that is ISSUED guns and taught how to use them.

    If you truly want to see any result from gun control, you need a national, deeply invasive search and confiscation and a hard wall around this country. Good luck with either.

  18. 30 year realtor says:

    #3 – A shooter in a crowded night club begins firing on innocent club goers. Several of the patrons are armed with concealed weapons. These armed patrons scattered about the club pull their weapons and begin firing. Please explain how this does not make the already dangerous situation more dangerous?

    These armed citizen are not working in concert to take down the shooter. They may become confused about who the real shooter is. The citizens are likely untrained for such situations and are likely consuming alcohol. Is it just me or does anyone else see this being a bad idea?

  19. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    The article is supposed to be about the benefits of a college degree. But those stats paint a disturbing picture, one that doesn’t speak well of our “recovery” or our educational systems

    http://money.cnn.com/2016/06/30/news/economy/college-grads-jobs/index.html

  20. HouseWhineWine says:

    If that Texas Mom didn’t have guns around I really doubt she would have been able to mow down her two daughters. This happened last week I think.
    At least the Dad would have had a chance to disarm her had it been a knife! But I guess the Texans love their gun culture, so this is what they get.

  21. D-FENS says:

    There are no background checks that read your mind or can look into your soul.

  22. D-FENS says:

    18 – That is such an idiotic thing to say.

  23. Essex says:

    1. Nice! Honda make terrific cars.

  24. Essex says:

    18. File that under things craaaazzzy people do.

  25. Juice Box digging his own grave says:

    Grim you are driving a chick’s car.

    Interesting demographics on the new HRV:

    Age: 20-30 years of age

    Household Income: $50,000

    College Graduate: Usually

    Male/Female: Mostly Female

    Married/Single: Mostly Single

    http://www.mensmagazine.com/top-10-chick-cars-that-guys-should-never-drive/

  26. Juice Box digging his own grave says:

    re# 18 – re: “But I guess the Texans love their gun culture, so this is what they get.”

    What about our local gang bangers and their kids? What do they get?

    http://abc7ny.com/news/mom-of-boy-shot-by-brother-breaks-down-in-court-asks-to-attend-funeral/1404573/

  27. D-FENS says:

    I equate housewhine’s comment to saying they deserved what they got because they are from Texas.

  28. HouseWhineWine says:

    25). Nope, not at all. Those poor daughters didn’t have a chance to survive because their MOTHER loved her guns. I am saying that when you live in a state where guns are a given, don’t be surprised when tragedy strikes. Are you kidding me?? Of course, I don’t think anyone deserves to be shot dead in the street, especially by their own mother.

  29. D-FENS says:

    26 – just admit it was morbid…and a way for you to justify your silly little worldview. I’d rather not argue with you and post and relive the endless stories of how sick fcuked up parents have murdered their own children without firearms over the years.

  30. chicagofinance says:

    Little snot nosed kid CEO…..not too hard to figure out what his politics are….

    minute 2:15 the critiques begin……
    minute 4:50 Tim Seymour hacks this guy in to Chopped Suey…..
    http://www.cnbc.com/2016/06/29/robo-advisor-ceo-on-friday-trading-haltshould-have-been-better-communicated.html

  31. HouseWhineWine says:

    27) You know what? I am actually glad you posted your diatribe against me. If you are trying to read into my posting, go ahead, go at it.
    What a bunch of nasty folks on this blog, it’s no wonder the postings have diminished over the last few months.
    I am glad because no longer going to read or contribute to this site. It’s run its course, there was no need to become so nasty about what I stated. Don’t tell me what my worldview is, I bet I have been around the world more than you anyway.
    Adios and I am sure you will all be glad I am leaving anyway.

  32. Comrade Nom Deplume, still fcuking around at work says:

    [29] whiner

    “Adios and I am sure you will all be glad I am leaving anyway.”

    Can you take the twitiot and footrest with you?

  33. Comrade Nom Deplume, still fcuking around at work says:

    Where’s footrest? I see he got thoroughly drubbed on his Ft. Hood faux pas and has disappeared back into the shrubbery. That isn’t like him; he usually just ignores the gang of brutal facts and snarks on.

  34. Grim says:

    The HRV is basically the same size as the X3 – probably also a chick car. On paper the bmw edges out in space, but parked next to each other, there is no way the x3 has more. The HRV has more trunk space, and with the seats down has much more usable cargo. It fits the dogs and other junk.

  35. Grim says:

    Upset I don’t have men’s magazine validation for my car choice. To make things worse I got that dark gray color with the purple pearl finish. Thank god I’m hung like a horse.

  36. Grim says:

    Channeled JJ for a second there.

  37. Grim says:

    Shocker more proof that Eric Holder and administration may very well be the worst in recent history.

  38. Grim says:

    Perhaps Obama should be charged with aiding terrorists.

  39. Juice Box digging his own grave says:

    Will they find his secret stash of candy?

    Trump campaign vetting Chris Christie for VP: reports

    Those with knowledge of the process told The New York Times on Thursday that Christie is among those being vetted as a possible vice presidential pick for Trump.
    And an unnamed source told CNN the governor has received the official paperwork for the vetting process.

    http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/286128-trump-campaign-vetting-new-jersey-gov-christie-for-vp

  40. nwnj3 says:

    Went over for gas at Costco twice today, PACKED. I guess that 23 cent hike rattling people so I just went down the street instead.

  41. Juice Box digging his own grave says:

    Now we are truly equal.

    US Secretary of Defense Carter: Immediately lifting ban on transgender military service – Reuters

  42. Joyce says:

    Hopefully, you’re around to read this and after that stay/go/whatever.

    If the situation was reversed and the father was deranged, would the mother unarmed have stood a chance against the father? on average

    HouseWhineWine says:
    June 30, 2016 at 10:13 am
    If that Texas Mom didn’t have guns around I really doubt she would have been able to mow down her two daughters. This happened last week I think.
    At least the Dad would have had a chance to disarm her had it been a knife! But I guess the Texans love their gun culture, so this is what they get.

  43. how to get says:

    eMedia Consult.Home

  44. Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:

    [39] nwnj

    More likely everyone getting ahead of the holiday weekend and tanking up. Also, there are only so many costco stations and lots of members. The costco in moorestown is always packed. But I rarely go there because it is out of my way–I’d burn any savings.

    I got the Wawa credit card to get the $0.05 off per gallon.

  45. Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:

    [40] juice,

    As I said before, the antidote for liberal policies is to make liberals subject to them.

    When people scream about why this happens, remind them that it is a direct and foreseeable result of the implementation of liberal dogma on race, police, parental rights and responsibilities, and school administration.

    I hope the parents of this boy are democrats.

  46. Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:

    [32] grim

    ” It fits the dogs and other junk.”

    did you just call your dog “junk”? That’s Humanist, anti-canine thinking!

    Report for reeducation at once.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:

    [38] juice,

    No one in his right mind or who has a political future will sign on to be Trump’s VP.

    Knowing Trump, he will simply select himself, because he’s more than capable of handling that job as well, and no one else is qualified (per Trump).

    Besides, if he named a reasonably qualified, reasonably respected person, he’d have to have food testers because half the country would want the VP to kill him.

  48. Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:

    [34] grim

    I miss JJ.

  49. joyce says:

    I don’t think Costco asks for your membership ID at the pump.

    Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:
    June 30, 2016 at 3:09 pm
    [39] nwnj

    More likely everyone getting ahead of the holiday weekend and tanking up. Also, there are only so many costco stations and lots of members. The costco in moorestown is always packed. But I rarely go there because it is out of my way–I’d burn any savings.

    I got the Wawa credit card to get the $0.05 off per gallon.

  50. ccb223 says:

    ALERT: To all aging conservative white guys.

    The country is quickly moving against you on many of these issues (e.g., gay rights, gun control, abortion, religion, etc.).

    Hang on for dear life, in 10 years it won’t matter. The millennials are coming…

  51. joyce says:

    As long as they bail out our employers, right?

  52. 1987 condo says:

    Amazingly..the market gets pretty much back to where it was prior to Brexit…coincidentally it marks the end of 2nd quarter.

  53. chicagofinance says:

    Biographical profile of Silicon Valley (clot Edition):
    Martinez, who writes in an overheated, chest-thumping style, spends much of the book making sweeping declarations on the meaning of Silicon Valley and capitalism. When he describes another techie as coated by “a certain resinous smarminess,” it’s a line that actually perfectly describes himself, especially when he’s talking about the opposite sex.

    “Most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of s- -t,” he writes. “They have their self-regarding entitlement feminism, and ceaselessly vaunt their independence, but the reality is, come the epidemic plague or foreign invasion, they’d become precisely the sort of useless baggage you’d trade for a box of shotgun shells or a jerry can of diesel.”

    Fodder for another book, maybe, but probably not one Sheryl Sandberg will be endorsing.

  54. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Wtf was wrong with raising the gas tax 23 cents while eliminating the death tax and tax on income for retirees? No one has forward thinking abilities, they just live in the fuc!ing now! Why would you not encourage the wealthy to stay? Great plan, gone to sh!t, because people are incapable of seeing the big picture. I seriously want to beat the living daylight out of Christie and all the idiots crying about a 23 cent gas tax accompanying an elimination of the death tax. Politics is a game of give and take, and this original plan was a good one. All the bi!ches crying about a 23 cent gas tax can take their cheap asses somewhere else. If a 23 cent gas tax really hurts you, you have issues. If you can’t bear the thought of getting rid of the death tax, get a life. Losers!!

  55. The Great Pumpkin says:

    Go from a good plan to a plan that involves lowering the sales tax 1%? Wtf is wrong with you people(people that bitched about the original plan) ? Get the fuc! out of this state. Sorry about the foul language, but I’m fired up and ready to go nuts on these losers starting with fatman.

  56. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    appalling that the extreme right wingers continue to kick people out of this blog.

    even a fundamentalist like Rags couldn’t stand the extreme right wingers

    HouseWhineWine says:
    June 30, 2016 at 12:19 pm
    27) You know what? I am actually glad you posted your diatribe against me. If you are trying to read into my posting, go ahead, go at it.
    What a bunch of nasty folks on this blog, it’s no wonder the postings have diminished over the last few months.
    I am glad because no longer going to read or contribute to this site. It’s run its course, there was no need to become so nasty about what I stated. Don’t tell me what my worldview is, I bet I have been around the world more than you anyway.
    Adios and I am sure you will all be glad I am leaving anyway.

  57. GOP's broken (the good one) says:

    Hopefully joyce is around to read this

    If the situation was that instead of the father it was a gang of aliens from Mars and their skin could only be penetrated by jj, nuclear power or a colt 45

    would the mother unarmed have stood a chance against the martians? on average

    Joyce says:
    June 30, 2016 at 2:37 pm
    Hopefully, you’re around to read this

    If the situation was reversed and the father was deranged, would the mother unarmed have stood a chance against the father? on average

  58. The Great Pumpkin says:

    It’s as if Christie’s main goal throughout his time as governor has been to bankrupt our state and bring it to its financial knees. He has to go before he causes anymore damage.

  59. chi says:

    Another heartwarming corporate turnaround…….
    Efforts to regain customer trust at Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. could suffer a setback as the restaurant chain placed its top marketing executive on administrative leave after Manhattan prosecutors unveiled an indictment involving the executive and a cocaine drug ring.

    While the indictment, made public on Thursday, has nothing to do with Chipotle itself, the involvement of an executive seen as the architect of its efforts to win back wary diners could have a damping effect.

    Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle’s chief creative and development officer, was one of 18 alleged buyers indicted in the drug ring and is expected to be arraigned in the coming days, according to a law-enforcement official.

  60. Comrade Nom Deplume. Citizen, 2nd Class. says:

    [49] Joyce

    “I don’t think Costco asks for your membership ID at the pump.”

    They do

  61. grim says:

    I never got asked for my card at a costco pump

  62. Anon E. Moose says:

    Plumpy [59];

    Welcome back!

    Starve the beast.

  63. Ghost of Ragnar says:

    Those of us who left are having great discussions at Grim’s secret new website that he hasn’t shared with the unworthy. Our nickname for this Atlantis-like-place is “Grim’s Gulch”. But enjoy arguing with those left behind!

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