A gauge of pending home sales rose in June, signaling slow-but-steady momentum for housing despite headwinds in the market.
The National Association of Realtors’ pending home sales index rose 0.2% to 111.0 from 110.8 in May. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 1.3% jump.
June’s reading was the year’s second-highest, behind only April. The index now stands 1.0% higher than its level a year ago.
The index forecasts future sales by tracking real-estate transactions in which a contract has been signed but the deal has not closed.
The June increase was led by a 3.2% surge in the Northeast. The Midwest index rose 0.8% during the month. Pending home sales declined 0.6% in the South and 1.3% in the West.
The West was the only region to register a reading lower than its year-ago level. That’s likely due to extremely tight supply that’s pushing prices out of reach of many buyers: The median sale price in the West was $350,800 in June, NAR said last week when it released data about sales of previously owned homes.
