WASHINGTON, DC—Pending sales of existing homes rose in March,the first gain in nine months and the biggest increase in theNational Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index sinceMay 2011, the association said Monday. The gain was better thaneconomists polled by Bloomberg had expected. In the view ofLawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, an increase wasinevitable.
“After a dismal winter, more buyers got an opportunity to lookat homes last month and are beginning to make contract offers,”says Yun. “Sales activity is expected to steadily pick up as moreinventory reaches the market, and from ongoing job creation in theeconomy.”
The PHSI rose 3.4% in March to 97.4 from an upwardly revised94.2 in February. However, it's 7.9% below March 2013, when it was105.7. An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contractactivity in 2001, according to NAR.
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
