Pending home sales slump 11.6% in April (by Steve Goldstein)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Pending home sales fell 11.6% in April, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. The pending home sales index reading of 81.9 in April came after a downwardly revised 92.6 in March, from an initial reading of 94.1. The big drop came after two monthly gains, and the NAR cited unusual weather and economic softness. "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." The index is 26.5% below its April 2010 peak, when buyers were rushing to beat a contract deadline for the homebuyer tax credit. The data reflects contracts but not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.