Although the January 2013 Pending Home Sales Index report indicates a slight reduction in pending home sales for the month of December 2012, figures have nevertheless remained higher than last year’s numbers.
Pending Home Sales Index
Reduced Inventory = Less Signings
According to Lawrence Yun, an economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), reduced inventory is to blame for the small decline in contract signings in December. For instance, homes in the less-than-$100,000 price range are becoming hard to find in most areas of the country, and although the inventory is expected to rise slightly in spring, the market sentiment appears to be turning to the side of sellers.
Still, as the inventory shrinks slightly, demand for homes has remained high, and it’s because of this that Yun estimates a 9 percent increase in 2013 home sales to match 2012’s 9 percent increase.
Other PHSI Figures
Here are some other important figures shared in the PHSI according to the NAR report:
- Pending home sales index percentage in the Northeast fell by 5.4 percent in December 2012, but remains higher than December 2011.
- Index rose in the Midwest by 0.9 percent in December, 14.4 percent above last year.
- Pending home sales index numbers in the South declined 4.5 percent to 111.5 in December, yet are over 10 percent higher than a year ago.
- The index fell 8.2 percent in the West for December and is the only one showing a decline from last year as well.
The Pending Home Sales Index takes a sample of about 20 percent of existing home sales across the country to measure the state of the market each month. Pending home sales are sales in which contracts have been signed but a closing has not yet occurred. The monthly report is one of the important indicators of how the market is faring in the U.S.
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December 2013 Pending Home Sales (Will Link When Published)