Following a sluggish start to the year in January, pending home sales picked up last month. Giving a boost to national activity was a nice bump in the Midwest.
During February, the Pending Home Sales Index —
a seasonally adjusted forward-looking indicator based on a national sample of contract signings– was 109.1.
That turned out to be a nice improvement over January 2016, when the index moved lower by 3 percent from a month earlier to a downwardly revised 105.4.
Pending home sales haven’t been as strong as they were last month since July 2015, when the index stood at a downwardly revised 109.8, according to historical data from the National Association of Realtors which released the latest report Monday.
The index inched up from
108.3 as of February 2015.
“After some volatility this winter, the latest data is encouraging in that a decent number of buyers signed contracts last month, lured by mortgage rates dipping to their lowest levels in nearly a year and a modest, seasonal up tick in inventory,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun stated in the report.
Behind the month-over-month gain was the Midwest, where pending home sales jumped 11 percent from January, leaving the index there at 112.6.
A 2 percent increase in the South put the index at 122.4 there, while a less than 1 percent rise left the index in the West at 96.4.
The Northeast was the only region to suffer a month-over-month decline, though less than 1 percent. The Northeast Pending Home Sales Index stood most recently at 94.0.
Yun added,
“Looking ahead, the key for sustained momentum and more sales than last spring is a continuous stream of new listings quickly replacing what’s being scooped up by a growing pool of buyers. Without adequate supply, sales will likely plateau.”
