US: Expect a decent increase in existing home sales - Nomura

The analysis team at Nomura points out that US existing home sales rebounded strongly by 4.4% m-o-m in March as both single-family home and condo sales increased decently, suggesting resilient momentum and as for April, they expect a decent increase in these data.

Key Quotes

“Mortgage applications for home purchases increased steadily in April after a strong jump in March. Pending home sales, which tend to lead existing home sales by four to six weeks, slowed slightly in March, but a strong 5.5% increase in February suggests that some of the signed contracts may have carried over to April. This possibility suggests that some of the momentum may have sustained through April as more contract signings materialize. However, although consumer fundamentals remain favorable, a lean supply of inventory remains as a challenge. Altogether, we forecast a 1.6% m-o-m increase in April to an annualized rate of 5.80m units (Consensus: -1.1% to 5.65m saar).”