Pending Home Sales Index Dips

A leading indicator of existing-home sales edged down 1.2% in March, signaling that home sales may slow in the months ahead, according to the National Association of Realtors."[T]he pending sales data is showing a dampening effect from rising mortgage rates that have been trending up since January," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "This means a modest slowing can be expected in the sales pace in the months ahead, although the market will hold at historically strong levels." The NAR reported that its index of pending homes sales edged down from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 117.6 in February to 116.2% in March. The NAR can be found online at http://www.realtor.org.

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