Pending Home Sales Up in March

Regional Pending Home Sales: The table below matches up seasonally adjusted data and non-seasonally adjusted data. Let's compare index levels one month before the first tax credit expired and one month before the extended tax credit expired. - Photo Courtesy of National Association of Realtors here

National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index declined 3.3 percent to 75.1 in the Northeast but it remains 27.2 percent higher than March 2009; The Midwest increased 1.2 percent to 98.9 and is 18.5 percent above a year ago.

The South jumped 12.7 percent to an index of 121.2, which is 28.3 percent higher than March 2009. The West index rose 1.9 percent to 99.9 and is 8.8 percent above a year ago. Pending home sales increased again in March, affirming that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season.

The index measures housing sales contract activity. A sale is listed as pending when a contract to purchase an existing home (single-family, condos, and co-ops) has been signed but the transaction has not closed. A signed contract is not counted as an actual existing home sale until the transaction closes.

The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. It is designed to be a leading indicator of housing activity. In developing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of monthly pending home sales parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months.

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in March, rose 5.3 percent to 102.9 from 97.7 in February, and is 21.1 percent above March 2009 when it was 85.0; this follows an 8.3 percent increase in February.

On a seasonally unadjusted basis, the March Pending Home Sales Index is worse vs. October 2009 in three regions (all except the South). However when looking at the data on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, all regions expect the West are actually at higher index levels vs. October 2009.

--Courtesy of Mortgage News Daily