U.S. home sales drop 1.8% in September

The housing market took another step back in the latest measure. Pending U.S. home sales dropped 1.8 percent in September from August, the National Association of Realtors said Friday.

“This is after two consecutive months of rise – a step backward,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors. “We don’t view this as a fundamental shift in the market.

“I’m not sure how much of this latest drop is due to the foreclosure moratorium some banks initiated,” he said at the Realtor’s annual meeting in New Orleans. “The data is consistent with soft activity right after the tax credit.”

Home sales across the country have been in a slide since federal tax credits that boosted purchases expired at the end of April.

Yun said it will be later this year before it’s clear how the home sales market will behave going forward in 2011.

Pending sales in September were down almost a quarter from the same month in 2009, when buyers were scrambling to qualify for the first round of federal tax credits.

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