By Dees Stribling | MHN Online
The National Association of Realtor’s Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on residential contract signings, but not closings, increased 6.7 percent to 112.3 in May from 105.2 in April, NAR reported on Thursday. That’s a 12.1 percent above May 2012, when the index was 100.2, and in fact the highest level since December 2006, just before the U.S. housing market did a number on the rest of the economy.
The organization is now predicting that existing-home sales will increase 8.5 to 9 percent this year compared with last, reaching about 5.07 million units in 2013. That would be the highest annual number of units moved in seven years, and slightly above the 5.03 million recorded in 2007.
“Even with limited choices, it appears some of the rise in contract signings could be from buyers wanting to take advantage of current affordability conditions before mortgage interest rates move higher,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun noted in a press statement. “This implies a continuation of double-digit price increases from a year earlier, with a strong push from pent-up demand.”
