A report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday showed pending home sales in the U.S. fell by more than expected in the month of July.
NAR said its pending home sales index decreased by 0.4 percent to 71.7 in July after sliding by 0.8 percent to 72.0 in June.
The bigger than expected decline by pending home sales largely reflected weakness in the Midwest, where pending home sales plunged by 4.0 percent.
Pending home sales also fell by 0.6 percent in the Northeast and slipped by 0.1 percent in the South, while pending home sales in the West surged by 3.7 percent.
Despite another monthly decrease, NAR noted pending home sales in July were up by 0.7 percent compared to the same month a year ago.