US pending home sales rise more than expected in July

US pending home sales rose more than expected in July, but June’s figure was revised down, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The NAR’s monthly index increased 1.3% to 111.3 in July from a downwardly-revised 109.9 in June, beating expectations for a 0.7% jump. The index is now at its second-highest level this year after April’s 115.0.

The NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said: “Amidst tight inventory conditions that have lingered the entire summer, contract activity last month was able to pick up at least modestly in a majority of areas.

“More home shoppers having success is good news for the housing market heading into the fall, but buyers still have few choices and little time before deciding to make an offer on a home available for sale. There’s little doubt there’d be more sales activity right now if there were more affordable listings on the market.”

The NAR forecast that existing home sales this year will rise around 2.8% from 2015 to 5.38m, which would be the highest annual pace since 2006.

It said that after accelerating to 6.8% a year ago, national median existing-home price growth is forecast to slightly moderate to around 4%.