NEW YORK - Pending home sales surged 8.2% to a reading of 88.8 in May, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 3.8% increase for the index.
The April index was upwardly revised to 82.1 from 81.9.
Year-over-year the pending homes sales index is up 13.4% from last May, when the index was 78.3.
Regionally, pending sales were higher. The Northeast saw a 7.3% increase to 69.2, while sales rose 4.1% to 95.0 in the South and increased 10.5% in the Midwest to 82.8. Sales climbed 12.9% to 100.6 in the West.
“Absorption of inventory is the key to price improvement, and this solid gain in contract signings implies that home values in many localities are or will soon be stabilizing as inventories get absorbed at a faster pace,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “Some markets have made a rapid turnaround, going from soft activity to contract signings rising by more than 30 percent from a year ago, including areas such as Hartford, Conn.; Indianapolis; Minneapolis; Houston; and Seattle,” he said.
