The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) most updated statistics showed a drop in pending home sales in the United States for June, but also showed 14 straight months of year-on-year improvement dating back to April 2011.

The organization’s Pending Home Sales Index was at 99.3 at the end of June 2012, a decrease of 1.4 percent from May 2012’s Index.

Compared to June 2011, this June’s Index was 9.5 percent higher. The Pending Home Sales Index takes into consideration all housing contracts signed, but does not take closings into account. NAR officials traced the slight decrease to a shortage of housing inventory.

According to NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun, the paucity in home listings led to a lack of opportunities to sign a contract, thus negating some of the impressive buyer interest so far. He added that property inventory has been moving down steadily, especially with regard to more inexpensive houses that investors and first-time homeowners usually opt for.

Yun also illustrated the growing gap between buyer and seller index statistics. In June, the buyer traffic index was 60 and the seller index only 41 – ideally, both numbers should be around 50. He stated that the difference between both numbers started growing early this spring, and the trend seems to favor the gap growing even larger.

He stressed that foreclosed properties should be released as soon as possible to ensure market demand is met. Foreclosure sales, according to the economist, have been delayed as of late as banks try to check for any and all potential and actual issues with the paperwork.