The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday its seasonally adjusted
pending home sales index (PHSI) rose by 2.0 per cent m-o-m to 72.0 in February, following an unrevised 4.6 per cent m-o-m
decline in January.
This marked the first increase in the indicator in three months, which was also
the strongest one since September 2024 (+7.5 per cent m-o-m).
Economists had expected
pending home sales to advance by 1.5 per cent m-o-m in February.
On a y-o-y
basis, the index fell by 3.6 per cent after an unrevised 5.2 per cent plunge in January. This represented the 3rd consecutive y-o-y decrease in pending home
sales but the weakest in the sequence.
According to
the report, two of four U.S. regions - the
South (+6.2 per cent m-o-m) and Midwest (+0.7 per cent m-o-m) - registered
monthly gains in pending home sales operations, while the West (-3.0 per cent
m-o-m) and Northeast (-0.7 per cent m-o-m) recorded declines.
In y-o-y terms,
all four U.S. regions posted decreases, led by the Midwest (-4.7 per cent
y-o-y).
Commenting on
the latest report, Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, noted that despite the
modest monthly increase, contract signings remain well below normal historical
levels. “A meaningful decline in mortgage rates would help both demand and
supply - demand by boosting affordability, and supply by lessening the power of
the mortgage rate lock-in effect,” he added.