Pending Home Sales Rise….the highest in 18 month’s!
The most Americans in more than 18 months signed contracts in November to buy homes, raising hopes that a boost in sales will follow, NAR (National Association of Realtors®) reported Thursday.
An index of pending purchase agreements rose to 100.1 last month, up 7.3 percent from October, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The reading is the highest since the gauge spiked to 111.5 in April 2010, when buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring federal tax credit. The November increase followed a 10.4 percent gain from September to October.
“Housing affordability conditions are at a record high (high is good) and there is pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines, Lawrence Yun, the realty group’s chief economist, said in a statement.
The largest growth in signed contracts last month came in the West, with a 14.9 percent boost, followed by increases of 8.1 percent in the Northeast, 4.3 percent in the South (that’s us) and 3.3 percent in the Midwest.
We are always asked; has the market bottomed? We can only answer that, when the market is on the way back up. However, favorable readings like this are an indicator that good things are happening and more should be coming.
