Market Pulse

Existing-Home Sales (EHS)4.89 million Seasonally adjusted annual rate, which is the actual rate of sales for the month, multiplied by 12 and adjusted for seasonal sales differences.Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI)85.9Pending Home Sales Index The Pending Home Sales Index measures housing contract activity. An index of 100 is equal to the level of activity during 2001, the benchmark year.Source: NAR ResearchSales Slippage SlowsExisting single-family home sales essentially stabilized in January, dipping 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted selling pace of 4.89 million units from an upwardly revised pace of 4.91 million units* in December. At the same time, NAR’s pending home sales index, which is forward looking, shows sales stabilizing.

The January index reading is 85.9, unchanged from December.*Adjusted from the figure published in the March 2008 issue.Brighten picture extendedFor the second month in a row, practitioners are bringing a bullish outlook to their view of market conditions in the months ahead. Buyer traffic will be up, they believe, while seller traffic will be down, which would help ease inventory buildup. Practitioner confidence was surveyed in February. Results are based on 560 responses to 3,000 surveys sent to large and small real estate offices. The survey asks practitioners to indicate whether conditions are strong (100 points), moderate (50), or weak (0). Responses are averaged to derive results.