Pending home sales jump in South, decline in Northeast [REPORT]

Pending home sales data

According to a National Association of Realtors report out today, national pending home sales increased again in March. This number reflects the number of contracts signed in the given month.

The NAR says the 5.3% rise in pending home sales from February 2010 and a 21.1% rise over March 2010 “affirm[s] that a surge of home sales is unfolding for the spring home buying season” while others point to a rush to purchase in order to redeem the expiring real estate tax credits.

Despite a drop of 7.6% in January, rising pending home sales could be the trend trend for spring as February rose a historic 8.2%.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist points to affordability and the tax credit combining to stabilize the market.

Gauging national performance

Each region performed differently with the best performing region again being the South which saw an increase in pending home sales of 12.7% in March, up a total 28.3% from March 2010. Although the index in the Northeast declined 3.3% in March, it is still 27.2% higher than March 2009, the Midwest is 18.5% up year over year and the West has risen 8.8% over the year.

“Another encouraging sign is the improvement in the availability for jumbo and second-home mortgages,” Yun said. “As bank balance sheets strengthen, it is just a matter of time before lending of non-government-backed mortgages steadily opens up.”

CC Licensed image courtesy of jimmyroq via Flickr.com.