Despite Housing Shortages, Contract Signings Climb
Pending home sales climbed in March, following two months of declines that were mostly blamed on a lack of homes for sale, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Thursday. Home buyer demand remains high, but inventory constraints continue to push on sales potential. NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index—a forward-looking indicator of homes sales based on contract signings—increased 1.9% in March and posted a 23.3% year-over-year gain. Part of that double-digit annual increase is due to a comparison to March 2020, when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began. Still, “the increase in pending sales transactions for the month of March is indicative of high housing demand,” says Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “With mortgage rates still very close to record lows and a solid job recovery underway, demand will likely remain high.” Housing inventories may soon see a boost , too—which would be welcome news to house hunters. “More inventory will show up as ...