Pending Home Sales Hit Record Low

Or if you prefer the Realtors' spin, "Pending Home Sales Ease in Post-Tax Credit Market."

Either way you look at it, it's the lowest mark since the group started tracking pending sales this way in 2001.

The NAR Pending Home Sales Index, which tracks contracts not closings, fell to 75.7 based on contracts signed in June. That's down from 77.7 in May and 93.0 a year ago. (An index of 100 is equal to the average level of activity in 2001.)

From the NAR:

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said lower home sales are expected in the short term. “There could be a couple of additional months of slow home-sales activity before picking up later in the year, provided the job market continues to improve,” he said. “Over the short term, inventory will look high relative to home sales. However, since home prices have come down to fundamentally justifiable levels, there isn’t likely to be any meaningful change to national home values. Some local markets continue to show strengthening prices.”