Courtesy of Mish.
I was perusing online stories about today’s release of pending homes sales data from the National Association of Realtors. Here are a few sample headlines.
NAR: Pending Home Sales Edge Up in November
CNBC: US pending home sales rise 0.2 percent
Calculated Risk: Pending Home Sales Index increased 0.2% in November
Forbes: Pending Home Sales Tick Up In November, First Time In Five Months
Reuters: U.S. pending home sales end slide, hint at stabilization
Fox Business News: Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly, Miss Street View
One Headline Title Stood Out
Zero Hedge: Pending Home Sales Plunge At Fastest Pace Since April 2011
It took about one second to understand the discrepancy.
All but the ZeroHedge headline (not necessarily the articles) ignored the NAR statement (see first link) “The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, inched up 0.2 percent to 101.7 in November from a downwardly revised 101.5 in October, but is 1.6 percent below November 2012 when it was 103.3.“
ZeroHedge has a chart that shows just that.
Pending Home Sales Year-Over-Year
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