Pending Home Sales Decline in April

Washington, DC, May 27, 2011 -- Pending home sales fell 11.6% in April, the National Association of Realtors said.

The pending home sales index reading of 81.9 in April came after a downwardly revised 92.6 in March.

The large drop came after two monthly gains.

"The economy hit a soft patch in April from sharply rising oil prices, widespread severe weather with the heaviest precipitation in 20 years, and a sudden rise in unemployment claims," said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

"Nonetheless, the magnitude of the fall in pending home sales is larger than can be implied by broad economic factors, so we need to see if it's just a one-month aberration."