The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index measures the number of contracts to buy homes signed each month. Contract signings are an important housing market indicator, since they are a good predictor of future home sales. In April, the NAR’s index was unchanged from the previous month but down from last year at the same time. Regionally, contract activity rose in the Midwest, West, and South but saw an 11.3 percent decline in the Northeast. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, says Americans want to buy homes but there are too few for sale right now. “Not all buying interests are being completed due to limited inventory,” Yun said. “Affordability challenges certainly remain and continue to hold back contract signings, but a sizeable increase in housing inventory will be critical to get more Americans moving.” (source)
