Getting your player ready...
WASHINGTON — An index that forecasts near-term home sales fell in August to a record low as would- be homebuyers had difficulty getting mortgages. Economists said the housing market’s woes show no sign of improving soon.
The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes fell 6.5 percent from July and 21.5 percent from a year ago.
The pending-home-sales index has done a fairly good job of predicting sales levels over the following two months, said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist with MFR Inc. in New York. Shapiro expects prices to fall further before sales rebound.
