Blog, Market, Real Estate
Pending Home Sales Index – March 2009
May 4, 2009 by heighlo · Leave a Comment
According to the latest report by National Association of Realtors®, pending homes sales rose based on contracts signed in March 2009. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index showed March 2009 contracts rose 3.2% from February’s level of 82. This index is a forward-looking index based on contracts signed not closed sales and is based on the national market. Additionally March 2009’s 84.6% was 1% increased from a year ago’s March 2008 index of 83.7%.
Lawrence Yun, NAR’S chief economist, stated “This increase could be the leading edge of first-time buyers responding to very favorable affordability conditions and an $8,000 tax credit, which increases buying power even more in areas where special programs allow buyers to use it as a down payment,” he says. “We need several months of sustained growth to demonstrate a recovery in housing, which is necessary for the overall economy to turn around.”
Here is a breakdown of pending home sales by region:
- South: rose 8.5 percent to 93.2 in March and is 7.7 percent above a year ago.
- West: increased 3.9 percent to 93.1 and is 1.7 percent higher than March 2008.
- Northeast: fell 5.7 percent to 59.5 in March and is 24.1 percent below a year ago.
- Midwest: slipped 1 percent to 82.3 but is 8.2 percent higher than March 2008.
