Expect a better-performing market in the next quarters, expert says
March saw pending home sales rebound from the month before.
The National Association of Realtors’ The Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.8% to 105.8 in March, up from 101.9 in February.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that pending home sales data had been fluid over the previous months. However, he forecasted that numbers would start to rise more consistently.
"We are seeing a positive sentiment from consumers about home buying, as mortgage applications have been steadily increasing and mortgage rates are extremely favorable," Yun said. "Despite some affordability issues in the West, the numbers indicate that there is a reason for optimism. Inventory has increased, too. These are great conditions for the region."
Meanwhile, year-over-year contract signings dropped 1.2%, marking the 15th straight month of annual decreases. Yun said current sales activity was underperforming.
"In the year 2000, we had 5 million home sales,” he said. “Today, we are close to that same number, but there are 50 million more people in the country," he said. "There is a pent-up demand in the market, and we should see a better-performing market in the coming quarters and years."
Pending home sales in the South and West regions continued to increase (jumping 4.4% and 2.3% month-over-month respectively) while activity in the Northeast and Midwest declined (1.7% and 2.3% respectively).
