Pending home sales surged 7.3% to a reading of 100.1 in November, its highest level in 19 months, from an unrevised 10.4% increase to 93.3 in October, according to a report released Thursday by the National Association of Realtors.
Economists predicted a 2.0% gain.
Year over year, the pending homes sales index is up 5.9%.
“Housing affordability conditions are at a record high and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines, but contract failures have been running unusually high,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.
“Some of the increase in pending home sales appears to be from buyers recommitting after an initial contract ran into problems, often with the mortgage,”Yun said.
