lowrate.com

The number of people who signed new home contracts last month inched lower.

Pending home sales were down 2.6 percent in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. Their Pending Home Sales Index now sits at 75.7, down from 77.7 in May and 18.6 percent lower than it was a year ago. That index took a significant drop following the expiration of the federal homebuyer tax credit April 30. Pending home sales had peaked that month at 110.9, the highest index reading since last October. May’s 30 percent drop left the index at its lowest level in years.

The NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, expects at least a few more months of falling home sales activity. An improving job picture could boost the market at the end of the year, but he expects only minimal gains in employment. "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."

Home values around the Gulf of Mexico are expected to take a hit due to the impact of the oil spill, which could further slow pending home sales, reported CoreLogic.