NEW YORK (AP) — The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase homes dropped in May to the lowest level on record, a sign the housing recovery can’t survive without government incentives.
The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes tumbled 30 percent in May. The index fell to 77.6 in May from 110.9 in April. May’s reading was the lowest dating back to 2001.
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the index would fall to 98.4. The index also was down 15.9 percent from the same month a year earlier.
The index provides an early measurement of sales activity because there is usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.