Pending home sales in the U.S. reached a seven-month high in February, which was a nice rebound from January’s disappointing numbers. It’s an indication another strong spring selling season could be in the offing.
The National Association Realtors reported its pending home sales index increased by 3.5 percent month-over-month in February. This surpassed analysts expectations. Most only expected a more modest gain of 1.1 percent following a disappointing January. However, these latest figures indicate last month’s declines weren’t the start of an overarching trend, an analyst from Barclays told AFP.
“The large rebound suggests last month’s downturn was not the beginning of a protracted slump in housing activity, but rather just monthly noise,” said Jesse Hurwitz of Barclay’s. “We continue to view the U.S. housing market as in a mode of gradual improvement.”
On a year-over-year basis, pending home sales were up 0.7 percent in February. That is the smallest annual gain in what’s been 18 consecutive months of increases.