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NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that January’s pending home sales pace declined 2.8% last month but rose 13% from a year ago.
Pending sales represent homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend to lead Existing-Home Sales data by 1 to 2 months.
All four regions showed strong gains from a year ago. The South had the biggest gain in contract signings of 17.1% followed by the West with an increase of 11.5%. The Northeast had an increase of 9.6% followed by the Midwest with the smallest gain of 8.6%.
From last month, only the South experienced a modest gain of 0.1% in contract signings. The Midwest had a decline of 0.9% followed by the Northeast with a dip of 7.4%. The West region had the largest decrease of 7.8%.
The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month was 122.8.
January’s increase brings the pending index above the 100-level mark for the ninth consecutive month.
The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with a healthy market and existing home sales above the 5 million mark.
