Pending Home Sales Fall Back to Pre-Stimulus Levels. Weather Blamed But Structural Weakness Remains

Posted To: MND NewsWire

The NAR released Pending Home Sales data this morning. From the release: The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in January, fell 7.6 percent to 90.4 from an upwardly revised 97.8 in December , but remains 12.3 percent higher than January 2009 when it was 80.5. A sale is listed as "pending" when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing . Mortgage and real estate professionals know that a signed contract is just the first step in a long process nowadays. The hard part is qualifying and closing! Since activity spiked over the seasonally supportive spring and summer months, before topping out in October, there has been a drastic drop off in sales…(read more)

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