Pending home sales during February were up by 1.6% from January, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). On a year-over-year basis, pending sales were down by 7%.
NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) increased to 75.6 in February; an index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. The regional PHSIs were up in the Midwest and South and down in the Northeast and West from January, while all four regions recorded year-over-year PHSI declines.
“While modest sales growth might not stir excitement, it shows slow and steady progress from the lows of late last year,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Ongoing job gains are clearly increasing demand along with more inventory.”
Yun added, “There will be a steady rise in inventory from recent growth in home building. Additionally, many sellers, who delayed listing in the past two years, will begin to put their homes on the market to move to a different home that better fits their new life circumstances – such as changes in family composition, jobs, commuting patterns and retirees wanting to be closer to their grandkids.”
