More house hunters are looking for a home, but they\u2019re having trouble finding one. Demand continues to exceed housing<\/a> supplies in many markets, which is restraining contract signings this fall, the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae\u00a0reported Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cDemand exceeds supply in most markets, which is keeping price growth high and essentially eliminating any savings buyers would realize from the decline in mortgage<\/a> rates from earlier this year,\u201d says Lawrence Yun, NAR\u2019s chief economist. \u201cWhile most of the country, except for the South, did see minor gains in contract signings last month, activity is falling further behind last year\u2019s pace because new listings<\/a> aren\u2019t keeping up with what\u2019s being sold.\u201d<\/p>\n Recent hurricanes also continue to weigh on sales. \u201cHurricane Irma\u2019s direct hit on Florida weighed on activity in the South, but similar to how Houston has rebounded after Hurricane Harvey, Florida\u2019s strong job and population growth should guide sales back to their pre-storm pace fairly quickly,\u201d Yun says.<\/p>\n Ongoing supply constraints are squeezing prospective buyers the most at the lower end of the market, Yun says. First-time buyers accounted for 29 percent of all transactions in September, which matched the lowest share in two years. Existing-home sales continue to be down on an annual basis in the price range below $250,000. However, sales remain higher in the upper price brackets, NAR notes.<\/p>\n \u201cBuyers looking for a little relief from the stiff competition from over the summer may unfortunately be out of luck in the coming months,\u201d Yun says. \u201cInventory starts to decline heading into the winter, and many would-be buyers from earlier in the year are still on the hunt to find a home.\u201d<\/p>\n Source: National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Realtors <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realtormag.realtor.org\/sites\/realtormag.realtor.org\/files\/rmo_files\/images\/2017_oct\/September%20PHS%20Infographic.jpg\")
NAR\u2019s Pending Home Sales Index\u2014a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings\u2014posted a reading of 106 in September, its lowest reading since January 2015. The index is also 3.5 percent below a year ago and has fallen on an annual basis in five of the past six months.<\/p>\n