California’s pending home sales dipped in June but were still higher than the previous year for the 14th straight month, according to the latest California Association of Realtors report. The National Association of Realtors also reported that nationwide pending home sales declined in June.

Realtor officials said the low inventory is slowing home sales.

The California Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index dropped 3.8 percent from a revised 126.1 in May to 121.4 in June, but pending sales increased 4.7 percent from the 115.9 index recorded in June 2011.

“Pending sales declined in June partly due to a lack of housing supply – especially in REO (real estate owned) properties,” said association President LeFrancis Arnold.

The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index slipped 1.4 percent to 99.3 in June from a downwardly revised 100.7 in May, but is 9.5 percent higher than June 2011, when it was 90.7.

National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said inventory shortages are a factor in the nationwide decline in pending sales.

“Buyer interest remains strong, but fewer home listings mean fewer contract signing opportunities,” he said.

Yun said there also have been delays in the closing process.

“With record low mortgage interest rates, there has been a surge of refinancing on top of a higher level of home purchases, which has been creating delays recently in the closing process,” he said.

June inventory of single-family homes experienced a large drop in Santa Clara County, down 38 percent from June 2011, according to the MLSListings. The county’s June inventory of 2,589 homes is 57.4 percent lower than the June 2008 inventory of 6,071 homes.

The Silicon Valley Association of Realtors provided information for this article. For more information, visit www.silvar.org or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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