The Pending Home Sales Index is a forward-looking housing market indicator based on contract signings. January’s data, just released on Friday, shows a fifth consecutive month of year-over-year gains with each month accelerating the previous month’s gain.
The PHSI data show that buyer demand at the beginning of 2015 pushed pending home sales in January to their highest level since August 2013, according to the National Association of Realtors®. All major regions except for the Midwest saw gains in activity in January.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says for the most part buyers in January were able to overcome tight supply to sign contracts at a pace that highlights the underlying demand that exists in today’s market. “Contract activity is convincingly up compared to a year ago despite comparable inventory levels,” he said. “The difference this year is the positive factors supporting stronger sales, such as slightly improving credit conditions, more jobs and slower price growth.”
Here’s more commentary from the NAR chief economist:
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