IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Pending home sales rose to their highest level in nine years during May, according to data released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.
The Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on signed contracts, rose nearly one percent last month and is currently at 112.6, which is 10.4 percent above where it was in May 2014, the association stated.
That marked the ninth consecutive month that the index has been up year-over-year.
“The steady pace of solid job creation seen now for over a year has given the housing market a boost this spring,” said Lawrence Yun, the association’s chief economist, in a statement. “It’s encouraging to see a broad-based recovery with all four major regions showing solid gains from one year ago and new homes sales also coming alive.”
Yun warned that housing prices have reached a level that is keeping a lot of people out of the housing market.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract has been signed but the transaction has not been completed. Brokers and others who work in the housing watch the index closely because it’s considered an indication of the housing market’s immediate future.
