Pending Home Sales Indicate Market Stabilization

PENDING HOME SALES INDICATE MARKET STABILIZATION

Pending home sales are hovering in a narrow range, another indication that a stabilization is occurring in the housing sector, according to NAR. The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in October, slipped 1.7% to a reading of 107.2 and is 13.2% lower than October 2005. The index had trended up from a cyclical low of 105.6 in July, and a decline from year-ago levels is narrowing.  In September, the index was 13.6% below a year earlier, while in August the decline was 14.0%. David Lereah, NAR's chief economist, said a fairly steady pace of home sales can be expected for the next two months.  "It's important to focus on where the housing market is now--it appears to be stabilizing, and comparisons with an unsustainable boom mask the fact that home sales remain historically high---they'll stay that way through 2007," he said. (Source: NAR) Full Story . . .

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