According to the NAR: Pending home sales eased against a deteriorating economic backdrop but remain in a stable range, according to the latest national survey. The Pending Home Sales Index slipped 0.7% to 88.9 from an upwardly revised reading of 89.5 in September, and is 1.0% below October 2007 when it was 89.8. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said a review of the past year is instructive. “Despite the turmoil in the economy, the overall level of pending home sales has been remarkably stable over the past year, holding in a generally narrow range,” he said. “We did see a spike in August when mortgage conditions temporarily improved, which underscores two things – there is a pent-up demand, and access to safe, affordable mortgages will bring more buyers into the market.”
Pending Home Sales Holding in Stable RangeDecember 18, 2008
