Pending home sales declined slightly in October in all regions but the Northeast, according to the National Association of Realtors®. The Pending Home Sales Index, decreased 2.6 percent to 102.1 in October, down from 104.8 in September. However, year-over-year contract signings dropped 6.7 percent, making this the tenth straight month of annual decreases. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that ten straight months of decline certainly isn’t favorable news for the housing sector. “The recent rise in mortgage rates have reduced the pool of eligible homebuyers,” he said. Yun notes that a similar period of decline ... (full story)