The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced Monday its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index (PHSI) climbed 1.5 percent to 110.2 in June from an upwardly revised 108.6 in May. Economists had expected pending home sales to rise 1 percent m-o-m last month.

According to the report, the pending home sales rose in the South (+2.1 percent m-o-m as measured by PHSI), the Northeast (+0.7 percent m-o-m), and the West (+2.9 percent m-o-m), but decreased in the Midwest (-0.5 percent m-o-m).

In y-o-y terms, pending home sales rose 0.5 percent, recording the first annual increase in three months.

The chief economist for the NAR, Lawrence Yun, said the bounce back in pending sales in most of the country in June is a welcoming sign. "The first half of 2017 ended with a nearly identical number of contract signings as one year ago, even as the economy added 2.2 million net new jobs," he said. "Market conditions in many areas continue to be fast paced, with few properties to choose from, which is forcing buyers to act almost immediately on an available home that fits their criteria."