US: Modest increase in pending home sales – Nomura

Analysts at Nomura note that US pending home sales were up a modest 0.2% m-o-m in November, following a solid 3.5% increase in October.

Key Quotes

“Sales in the South fell 0.4% in November following a sharp pick-up of 7.4%. This decline likely reflects mean reversion after a strong increase following the landfall of major hurricanes in the region. Sales in the West fell notably by 1.8%. Increases in other regions, however, offset declines in the South and West.”

“GDP tracking update: The increase in pending home sales in November was broadly in line with our expectations for brokers’ commissions in Q4 (a subcomponent of residential investment). Our Q4 real GDP tracking estimate remains unchanged at 2.7% q-o-q saar.”