Pending home sales hit an 18-month high

pending home sales

REUTERS/Richard Clement Pending home sales hit an 18-month high in January.

Pending home sales bounced back in January, rising 1.7% over December.

Another big part of this report is the positive revision to December's number, which was revised up to -1.5% from an initial reading of -3.5%.

Over last year, pending home sales rose 6.5%.

Expectations were for pending home sales to rise 2% month-on-month in January, while rising 8.7% over the prior year.

In December, pending home sales fell 3.7%.

In a release, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said that "for the most part buyers in January were able to overcome tight supply to sign contracts at a pace that highlights the underlying demand that exists in today's market."

"Contract activity is convincingly up compared to a year ago despite comparable inventory levels," Yun said. "The difference this year is the positive factors supporting stronger sales, such as slightly improving credit conditions, more jobs and slower price growth."

More to come ...

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