NAR: Pending Home Sales Index Jumps 1.5% to 105.7 in March

Pending home sales gained 1.5% to an index reading of 105.7 in March, after a revised 1.0% decrease to 104.1 in February, according to a report released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.

Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted that the index would be up 1.0%.

February's drop was initially reported as a 0.4% slip to 104.8.

An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001.

Year-over-year the pending homes sales index is up 7.0% from last March, when the index was 98.8.

Regionally, pending sales were mostly higher. The Northeast saw an unchanged reading of 82.8, while sales rose 0.3% in the Midwest to 103.8. In the South, sales grew 2.7% to 120.0, and sales gained 1.5% to 102.9 in the West.

"Contract activity has been in a narrow range in recent months, not from a pause in demand but because of limited supply. Little movement is expected in near-term sales closings, but they should edge up modestly as the year progresses," NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. "Job additions and rising household wealth will continue to support housing demand."

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