Pending sales in the last 24 hours = 459 at an average $399K. Current number of homes offered for sale = 3064. Compare this to Feb 25’s random pendings check at 483 for an average $410K with 2932 homes for sale at the time. So, slight drops on key fronts, with a slight increase in inventory.
Today, only 15% of homes available are actually in contract (compared to last month’s 16%). Which means, sellers have a less than 1 in 6 chance of actually selling. This data is from the MLS and does not include non-MLS builder homes, and, believe me, the Saturday Homes section of the local paper is THICK with builder ads.
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Released on 3/6/06 For Jan 2006
2006 U.S. Economic Events & Analysis
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Pending Home Sales Index
Definition
The National Association of Realtors developed the pending home sales index as a leading indicator of housing activity. As such, it is a leading indicator of existing home sales, not new home sales. A pending sale is one in which a contract was signed, but not yet closed. It usually takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale. Why Investors Care
Pending Home Sales Index
Actual -2.6%
Previous -3.0 %
Highlights
The pending home sales index fell 1.1% to 116.3 in January after falling 2.6% in December. Year-on-year, the index is down 4.8%. Regionally, sales dipped in the South and West and rose in the Midwest and Northeast.
This index measures the number of contracts signed in January and is consistent with sales data suggesting a slowdown may be developing in the nation’s housing sector. High mortgage rates and cautious consumer confidence are two factors limiting the outlook for both the housing sector and wider economic growth.
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