Market Consensus before announcement
The pending home sales index rebounded 2.4 percent in July, following a 1.4 percent dip the month before. The latest gain points to further improvement for existing home sales. The year-on-year rate of plus 12.4 percent is the highest in nearly 2-1/2 years. Regional data show gains in 3 of 4 regions led by the South which is the largest region. Sales of existing homes have been trending higher for the last year though gains have been slightly lagging those for new homes.