The National Association of Realtors (NAR) released its pending home sales figures for the U.S. on Thursday. Pending home sales in the U.S. increased 5.1% in April, exceeding expectations for a 0.6% gain, after a 1.6% rise in March. March's figure was revised up from a 1.4% gain.

The increase was led by rises in almost all regions. Only pending home sales in the Midwest region declined in April

"The building momentum from the over 14 million jobs created since 2010 and the prospect of facing higher rents and mortgage rates down the road appear to be bringing more interested buyers into the market," the NAR's chief economist Lawrence Yun said.

"Even if rates rise soon, sales have legs for further expansion this summer if housing supply increases enough to give buyers an adequate number of affordable choices during their search," he added.