Pending home sales rebounded 4.6% to an index reading of 103.2 in January, after a revised 2.3% decline to 98.7 in December, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors.
The December number was first reported as a 2.2% fall to 99.0.
An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001.
Year-over-year the pending homes sales index decreased 2.3% from the previous January, when the index was 105.6. This is the thirteenth consecutive month sales have dropped on an annual basis.
Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted the index would be flat in the month.
Regionally, pending sales were higher in the month. Northeast sales grew 1.6% to 94.0, sales rose 8.9% in the South to 119.8, and in the Midwest sales gained 2.8% to 100.2. Sales climbed 0.3% in the West to 87.3.
“A change in Federal Reserve policy and the reopening of the government were very beneficial to the market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said, referring to lowered forecasts for Fed rate hikes in 2019.
Rising mortgage rates lowered affordability and thwarted would-be buyers in 2018. “Homebuyers are now returning and taking advantage of lower interest rates, while a boost in inventory is also providing more choices for consumers,” he said.
