Pending Home Sales Rise to Highest in Over 9 Years

The latest National Association of Realtors (NAR) data shows that 0.9 percent more Americans signed resale home-purchase contracts in May compared to April, marking the fifth consecutive increase and the highest level since April 2006. Analysts had projected a 0.6 percent improvement. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun remarks, “The steady pace of solid job creation seen now for over a year has given the housing market a boost this spring.” The strong pending home sales results follow positive reports a week ago on both new- and existing-home sales, which indicated first-time home buyers are at last beginning to return to the market in force. Looking at the various geographic regions, the latest increase in pending home sales was led by a 6.3 percent gain in the Northeast and a 2.2 percent increase in the West. | Read More