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NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that October’s pending home sales pace was down 1.7% last month but rose 4.4% 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 gains from a year ago. The West had the biggest increase in sales of 7.5% followed by the South with an increase of 5.1%. The Northeast had a gain of 3.0% while the Midwest had the smallest increase of 1.8%.
From last month, three of the four regions showed declines in contract signings. The Northeast region had the only gain of 1.9%. The West had the biggest decline of 3.4% followed by the Midwest with a drop of 2.7%. The South had the smallest fall in signings of 1.7%.
The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month was 106.7.
October’s increase brings the pending index back above the 100 level mark for the tenth 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.
