U.S. Pending Home Sales Fall 4.7% in May

U.S. pending home sales resumed their decline in May, falling 4.7% in the month after an upwardly revised 7.1% bounce in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. April's rebound was originally reported as a 6.3% gain.

The consensus was expecting the PHSI to fall by 2.5% in the month, with estimates ranging from -6.0% to +0.2%.

The PHSI now stands at 84.7, down from 88.9 in the previous month (revised from 88.2). From a year prior, the index has declined by 14.6%. An all-time low in the index was hit at 83.0 in the March release.

Each of the four regions saw declines in the month, as sales in the Midwest fell 6.0%, the South fell 7.1%, the West dropped back 1.3%, and the Northeast fell by 2.9% from the previous month.

"We are not out of the woods by any means," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR.

The PHSI looks at home sales that have been signed but not finalized, a process that takes another month or two. The value of the index lies in its ability to forecast existing home sales, which represent eight-tenths of the market.

By Patrick McGee and edited by Stephen Huebl