Cancelled Mortgages Drop August Pending Home Sales by 22%

The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Index for August fell 21.5% from the same month in 2006 to a low of 85.5 (100 = the 2001 level of sales). It was the lowest level ever for the measure, which began in 2001.
“Fewer contracts were being written because of mortgage availability issues, and a separate internal survey of our members shows more than 10% of sales contracts fell through at the last moment in August, primarily the result of canceled loan commitments,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist. “The volume of activity we’re seeing today is below sustainable market fundamentals because some creditworthy people are trying to buy homes but can’t because of the credit crunch.”