The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index rose 7.3 percent to 100.1 in November and is 5.9 percent above last year’s levels. The improvement brought pending sales to their highest level since April 2010 when the homebuyer tax credit was about to expire. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said some of the gains may have been due to delayed transactions resulting from previous contract failures. According to Yun, housing affordability is at a record high and there is pent-up demand from buyers who have been on the sidelines. Pending home sales rose in every region of the country. The West saw a 14.9 percent increase and the Northeast was up 8.1 percent. More here.
