Pending Home Sales Increase 2.4% in February

The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has reported Pending Homes Sales Index (PHSI) rose 2.4% to 111.5 in February. Year-over-Year contract signings increased 9.4%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001. The PHSI is a leading indicator of housing activity, measures housing contract activity, and is based on signed real estate contracts, not actual closings, for existing single-family homes, condos, and co-ops. In prepared remarks Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist said, “February’s pending sales figures show the housing market had been very healthy prior to the coronavirus-induced shutdown”. He noted that the data does not capture the significant fallout from the pandemic, or the measures taken to control the outbreak. “Numbers in the coming weeks will show just how hard the housing market was hit, but I am optimistic that the upcoming stimulus package will lessen the economic damage and we may get a V-shaped robust recovery later in the year.”