Pending Home Sales Index Declines

An index that tracks pending home sales posted a 2.6% decline in November from an upwardly revised October reading and stood 19.2% below the level recorded a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors. The Pending Home Sales Index is based on sale contracts signed each month. The November reading was 87.6, down from 108.4 a year earlier. "On the one hand, we have a pent-up demand from the four million jobs added to our economy over the past two years of sales decline," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "On the other, consumers continue to wait for additional signs of market stabilization.... A meaningful recovery in existing-home sales could occur as early as this spring, or it may be further delayed toward late 2008." The NAR can be found online at http://www.realtor.org.