Highlights
Pending home sales fell 2.6 percent in August pointing to trouble for final sales of existing homes. Low supply of houses on the market is a key factor holding down sales as are firming prices. Regional data show a sharp fall for pending sales in the West where supply is especially tight. The Midwest and South also show declines in the month with the Northeast showing a gain.

Existing home sales have been trending upward but not by very much and today's report points to the risk of slowing or of flattening or even worse. But the National Association of Realtors, which publishes the report, remains upbeat, noting that the year-on-year gain for this series, at 10.7 percent, is still very positive and that August may prove to be an outlier. The Dow is trailing off from early highs following today's report.

Market Consensus before announcement
The pending home sales index rebounded 2.4 percent in July, following a 1.4 percent dip the month before. The latest gain points to further improvement for existing home sales. The year-on-year rate of plus 12.4 percent is the highest in nearly 2-1/2 years. Regional data show gains in 3 of 4 regions led by the South which is the largest region. Sales of existing homes have been trending higher for the last year though gains have been slightly lagging those for new homes.

2012 Released Schedule

Released On: 1/21 2/23 3/22 4/22 5/26 6/23 7/22 8/25 9/23 10/21 11/25 12/24 Release For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov