US existing home sales activity to decline further in November

The uneven performance in the US housing market recovery is set to continue, and the pace of existing home sales activity is expected to decline a further 0.9% m/m in November to 5.31M units. This will mark the second consecutive monthly decline in this indicator and the third drop in the past four months, reflecting the continued sluggish performance in this segment of the US economy. 

The decline is expected to be driven by a slowdown in the both single- and multi-family sales, and is broadly consistent with the weaker tone in pending home sales activity. Despite the subpar performance in recent months, the housing recovery is expected to regain its footing in the months ahead as the underlying backdrop for the US housing market remains favourable. Nevertheless, the pace of sales is likely to remain constrained by low inventories which should continue to exert some modest upside pressures on prices.