By Jann Swanson | Mortgage News Daily
Pending home sales recovered from the reported 2.5 percent downturn they took in November, posting an increase of 1.6 percent in December. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) which is based on contracts to purchase existing homes, increased to 109.0 in December from 107.3 the previous month.
The uptick puts the index 0.3 percent higher than in December 2015 after it trailed the year-earlier figure by 0.4 percent in November. NAR had blamed last month’s poor showing on buyers “dispirited” by rising rates and tight inventory.
