The National Association of REALTORS released it’s Pending Home Sales Index for March today showing an increase of 4.1 percent in the index from the month before (seasonally adjusted), and an 12.8 percent increase from a year ago and is now at the highest level it’s been since April 2010.
Highlights from the report for March, 2012:
- The pending home sales index (seasonally adjusted) was 101.4 (the index is based upon 100.0 being equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001 which we could call the last “normal” year) which is a 4.1 percent increase from the month before and an 12.8 percent increase from a year ago.
- The”not-seasonally adjusted” index index was 115.6 a 27.3 percent increase from the month before and a 10.8 percent increase from a year ago.
- The Midwest and the Northeast had month-over-month decreases (0.9 percent and 0.8 percent respectively) and the South and West regions had month-over-month increases (5.9 percent and 8.7 percent respectively) and all regions had a year-over-year increase.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said 2012 is expected to be a year of recovery for housing. “First quarter sales closings were the highest first quarter sales in five years. The latest contract signing activity suggests the second quarter will be equally good,” he said.
“The housing market has clearly turned the corner. Rising sales are bringing down inventory and creating much more balanced conditions around the county, which means home prices will be rising in more areas as the year progresses,” Yun said.
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