The National
Association of Realtors (NAR) announced on Tuesday its seasonally adjusted
pending home sales index (PHSI) surged 2.8 percent m-o-m to 108.3 in June, up
from 105.4 in May..
Economists had
expected pending home sales to rise 0.5 percent m-o-m in June.
On y-o-y basis,
the index increased 1.6 percent, snapping a 17-month streak of annual declines.
According to
the report, the pending home sales rose all four regions in m-o-m terms and
compared to June 2018. Pending home sales in the South increased 1.3 percent
m-o-m to an index of 125.7 in June, which was 1.4 percent higher than last
June. The PHSI in the Northeast climbed 2.7 percent m-o-m to 94.5 and was now
0.9 percent higher than a year ago. The index in the West surged 5.4 percent
m-o-m to 96.8 and increased 2.5 percent above a year ago. The indicator in the
Midwest grew 3.3 percent m-o-m to 103.6 and rose 1.7 percent y-o-y.