Pending home sales in the U.S. surged by much more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday.
NAR said its pending home sales index spiked by 3.4 percent to 78.2 in March after jumping by 1.6 percent to 75.6 in February.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
Pending home sales in the South and West led the sharp monthly increase, soaring by 7.0 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively. The report said pending home sales in the Northeast also jumped by 2.7 percent, while pending home sales in the Midwest plunged by 4.3 percent.
NAR also revealed it expects existing sales to surge by 9.0 percent to 4.46 million in 2024 and skyrocket by another 13.2 percent to 5.05 million in 2025.
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