By Ian McKendry
WASHINGTON (MNI) – Sales of homes waiting to be completed hit a five-year
high in October the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.
The NAR’s pending home sale index rose 5.2% in October to a level of 104.8.
This is the highest the index has been since March 2007, when it was 104.8, and
is 13.2% higher than last year’s level of 92.6.
“We’ve had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time,
but we’re seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer
confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive,”
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
September’s index was revised up from 99.5 to 99.6. Pending home sales are
usually a good predictor of future sales one or two months down the road.
Regionally, the Midwest saw a 15.6% monthly surge while the West saw a 1.1%
decline and the Northeast fell 0.1%. The South improved by 5.5%.
“The Northeast saw some impact from Hurricane Sandy, but limited inventory
in the West is keeping a lid on the market. All regions are up from a year ago,
with double-digit gains in every region but the West,” Yun said.
Pending home sales have now been improving on an annual basis for 18
consecutive months bolstered by historically low mortgage rates.
–MNI Washington Bureau; tel: +1 202-371-2121; email: imckendry@mni-news.com
[TOPICS: MAUDR$,MAUDS$,M$U$$$]