Pending home sales rise in February

​​WASHINGTON – According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales grew in February, but weakening affordability and low inventory restricted overall activity compared with a year ago.

The Pending Home Sales Index grew 3.1 percent to 107.5 in February from a downwardly revised 104.3 in January. Even with last month’s increase in activity, the index is 4.1 percent below a year ago.

February 2017’s reading was 112.1, the second highest since May 2006. 

NAR Chief Economist ​Dr. Lawrence Yun says the housing market has gotten off to an uneven start so far in 2018. 

"T​he expanding economy and healthy job market are generating sizeable homebuyer demand," he said, "but the miniscule number of listings on the market and its adverse effect on affordability are squeezing buyers and suppressing overall activity.”

Pending home sales in the South rose 3 percent to 125.7 in February 2018​. That is still 1.5 percent below last February.

Yun forecasts existing home sales to be around 5.51 million, flat from 2017. The national median existing home price is expected to increase around 4.2 percent. In 2017, existing sales increased 1.1 percent and prices rose 5.8 percent.​