Pending home sales improved in January for the second consecutive month, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index improved 8.1 percent in January.
Year-over-year, pending transactions dropped by 24.1 percent.
“Buyers responded to better affordability from falling mortgage rates in December and January,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Home sales activity looks to be bottoming out in the first quarter of this year, before incremental improvements will occur. But an annual gain in home sales will not occur until 2024. Meanwhile, home prices will be steady in most parts of the country with a minor change in the national median home price.”
Out West, the index elevated 10.1 percent in January, but was down 29.3 percent from January 2022. The Northeast PHSI rose 6 percent from last month but was down 19.8 percent from January 2022.
The Midwest index grew 7.9 percent in January, but dropped 21.1 percent from one year ago. The South PHSI increased 8.3 percent in January, but dipped 24.7 percent from the prior year.
“An extra bump occurred in the West region because of lower home prices, while gains in the South were due to stronger job growth in that region,” Yun added.