Gold price holding steady as U.S. spending home sales jump 7.5%

Gold prices are holding in neutral territory despite strong momentum in the housing sector as more consumers-than-expected started the process to buy a home in October.

The U.S. pending home sales jumped 7.5% in October, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said on Monday. The consensus forecast called for an advance of 0.8%. 

The pending home sales index rose to 125.2 last month. However, the report said that on an annual basis, pending home sales were also down 1.4% from June 2020.

“Motivated by fast-rising rents and the anticipated increase in mortgage rates, consumers that are on strong financial footing are signing contracts to purchase a home sooner rather than later," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist. "This solid buying is a testament to demand still being relatively high, as it is occurring during a time when inventory is still markedly low.”

Yun added that the pending home sales numbers will solidifies sale expectations of more than 6 million home sold this year. He added that the housing market is on pace for its best annual performance in 15 years.