Categories: Retirement Planning and Investing

Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Rise Less Than Forecast

Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Rise Less Than Forecast (Bloomberg)

Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes rose less than forecast in November, reflecting rising borrowing costs are reining in a residential real estate recovery. A gauge of pending home sales increased 0.2 percent, the first gain in six months, after a 1.2 percent drop in October that was bigger than initially reported, the National Association of Realtors announced today. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 1 percent advance. Higher mortgage rates, tight lending standards and price increases driven by a limited supply of homes for sale are discouraging prospective buyers.

Paul Dykewicz

Paul Dykewicz is the editor of StockInvestor.com and the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C. He writes and edits for the website, as well as edits investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts and other reports published by Eagle. He also is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, USA Today and other publications, as well as served as business editor of a daily newspaper in Baltimore. In addition, Paul is the author of the inspirational book, "Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame's Championship Chaplain." He received his MBA in finance from Johns Hopkins University, where he was a two-time president of the school's Finance Club. In addition, Paul has a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and a master's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Outside of work, Paul volunteers with a faith-based organization to assist the poor in Southeast Washington, D.C., to learn personal finance skills to lift themselves out of debt.