Oct. 2, 2007 (LPAC)--The National Association of Realtors' index of pending sales of existing-homes, fell to 85.5 in August, a sharp drop of 6.5% from July of 2007, and of 21.5% from August of 2006, the NAR announced Oct. 2. The index, which sits at its lowest level on record, measures the number of Americans who have signed contracts to buy previously owned homes, although the transaction has not yet closed. The index's deterioration, which fairly closely indicates future home sales, shows that the housing collapse in the U.S. is a good way from its bottom.

"Fewer [mortgage] contracts were being written because of mortgage-availability issues," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's senior economist. "More than 10 percent of sales contracts fell through at the last moment in August," Yun said. "The impact was greater in high-cost markets that are more dependent on jumbo mortgages. In some areas, as much as 30% of signed contracts were falling through in August."

In a related development, during August, United Kingdom banks approved the fewest home mortgages,-- 109,000-- since April, as the British real estate market implodes.