NAR released a summary of pending home sales data showing that October’s pending home sales pace increased 7.5% last month but fell 1.4% from a year ago.
Pending sales represent homes that have a signed contract to purchase on them but have yet to close. They tend to lead existing-home sales data by 1 to 2 months.
Two of the four regions showed declines from a year ago. The Northeast had the largest dip of 10.0% followed by West with a drop in contract signings of 6.2%. The Midwest had an incline of 5.1% followed by the South with the smallest gain of 0.6%.
From last month, all four regions showed inclines in contract signings. The Midwest region had the largest gain of 11.8% followed by the South with an increase of 8.0%. The Northeast rose 6.9% followed by the West with the smallest incline of 2.1%.
The U.S. pending home sales index level for the month was 125.2.
October’s contract signings bring the pending index above the 100-level mark for the 18th consecutive month.
The 100 level is based on a 2001 benchmark and is consistent with existing home sales above the 5 million mark.