---

Pending Home Sales Are Robust Prior to Shutdown

Posted To: MND NewsWire

Pending home sales, which jumped 5.2 percent in January, did not retrench as expected last month. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) said its Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) grew 2.4 percent to a reading of 111.5 in February. The PHSI is a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts for purchase of existing single-family homes, townhomes, condos, and cooperative apartments. The February index level is 9.4 percent higher than a year earlier. After its unusually large gain in January, the index was expected to move lower. Analysts polled by Econoday had a very wide range of forecasts, from -2.5 percent to 5.0 percent with a consensus for a 1.6 percent decline. "February's pending sales figures show the housing market had been very healthy prior to the coronavirus-induced...(read more)