Pending Home Sales Fall In December But Trend Remains Positive
January 25, 2012
Sign Up to Receive an Email Alert when Flash Headlines are Published
Economic Update: Pending Home Sales Index
National Association of Realtors reports that their Pending Home Sales Index for December fell by 3.5% to a reading of 96.6, which was below than the consensus expectations for a decline of -2.0%. (November: +7.3%, October: +10.4%, September: -4.6%, August: -1.2%, July: -1.3%, June: +2.4%, May: +8.2%.)
The current level of sales is 5.6% above year ago levels.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the trend line remains positive. “Even with a modest decline, the preceding two months of contract activity are the highest in the past four years outside of the homebuyer tax credit period,” he said. “Contract failures remain an issue, reported by one-third of Realtors® over the past few months, but home buyers are not giving up.”
The NAR's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) is designed to be a leading indicator of housing activity. The index measures housing contract activity. It is based on signed real estate contracts for existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops. A signed contract is not counted as a sale until the transaction closes. Modeling for the PHSI looks at the monthly relationship between existing-home sale contracts and transaction closings over the last four years.
S&P 500 - Intraday
Remember, you are in control your email alerts! You can receive alerts for more than 25 free research report alerts including: The “10.0” Report, The Insiders Report, ETF Leaders Report, and The Focus List.
