The National Association of Realtors recently reported that pending home sales increased 3.1%. This figure is according to their Pending Home Sales Index which rose to 107.5 and is 4.1% lower than one year ago. Interestingly, the index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says the housing market has gotten off to an uneven start so far in 2018. “Contract signings rebounded in most areas in February, but the gains were not large enough to keep up with last February’s level, which was the second highest in over a decade (112.1),” he said. “The expanding economy and healthy job market are generating sizeable homebuyer demand, but the miniscule number of listings on the market and its adverse effect on affordability are squeezing buyers and suppressing overall activity.”
Click here to read the full release at the National Association of Realtors.
