Pending home sales increased 3.1 percent in February but are still sluggish compared with a year ago, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The increase brought the pending home sales index to 107.5 in February, up from January’s downwardly revised 104.3 but still 4.1 percent below February 2017 estimates.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement that the expanding economy and positive job market are creating significant homebuyer demand, but the low inventory is having an adverse effect on affordability.
Regionally, pending sales rose 10.3 percent in the Northeast and 0.7 percent in the Midwest in February. The South saw an increase of 3 percent and the West rose 0.4 percent.
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