NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6 percent to 110.9 from an upwardly revised 104.6 in March, and is 22.4 percent higher than April 2009, when it was 90.6. Pending home sales currently are at the highest level since October, when the index reached 112.4 as first-time buyers rushed to beat the initial deadline for the federal home buyer’s tax credit. The data reflect contracts and not closings, which usually occur with a lag time of one or two months. In the West, which includes California, the index increased 7.5 percent to 107.9, 12 percent higher compared with a year ago.
“There were concerns that only a small pool of buyers were left to take advantage of the [federal] tax credit extension. But evidently the tax stimulus, combined with improved consumer confidence and low mortgage interest rates, are contributing to surging sales,” Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said . “The housing market has to get back on its own feet and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs.”
Source: National Association of Realtors®
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