U.S. Pending Home Sales Rise Three Months in a Row

By Saul Gross

We have excellent news to report from the national housing market: The U.S. pending home-sales index increased for the third straight month in April. This is testament that the national housing market is back on track and becoming increasingly stable. If you’re currently considering entering the real estate market as a buyer or seller, we encourage you to learn more about this new trend below.

The Latest Outlook from the Housing Market is Positive

Let’s take a closer look at the recent report from the National Association of Realtors. According to recent data, the pending home-sales index (based on contract signings for purchases of previously owned homes) increased 1.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted level of 108.6 in March. This is also higher than in February, when the level was 107.4. And,  evidently, the increase in the home sales index is higher than many economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal thought it would be. They had expected the increase to be 1 percent.

Here are some additional highlights from the NAR report:

• When comparing March 2014 to March 2015, the index increased 11.1 percent.
• Completed existing-home sales increased 6.1 percent in March. This increase followed two months in which the gains were lackluster.
• And although sales of newly built single-family homes decreased from February to March, they increased almost 20 percent from the sales pace of a year ago.
• The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.77 percent in March, which is slightly above the previous month but also down from a year earlier.
• And pending sales of existing homes increased in the South and the West during the month of March, but decreased in the Northeast and Midwest.
• Meanwhile, markets across the country are seeing home prices increase.

Experts believe that low housing inventory have driven prices up on existing homes. And while that has helped to close the gap in cost between newer homes (which are typically more expensive) and previously-owned homes, existing home sales still account for roughly 90 percent of the overall market.