Pending home sales up slightly in September

Pending home sales rose slightly in September as the housing market continues making steady improvement.

Contract signings, a forward-looking indicator for home sales, increased 0.3 percent last month to 105 from 104.7 in August, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Monday. 

{mosads}The index is above 100 for the fifth consecutive month and reached its second-highest level since September 2013.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says conditions remain favorable for buyers because of moderating price growth, steady inventory levels and low mortgage interest rates.

“Housing supply for existing homes was up in September 6 percent from a year ago, which is preventing prices from rising at the accelerated clip seen earlier this year,” he said.

“Additionally, the current spectacularly low mortgage rates should help more buyers reach the market.”

Despite improving conditions, tight credit continues to be a barrier for some buyers, with about 15 percent of real estate agents in September reported having clients who could not obtain financing as the reason for not closing.

Also, the September reading was up 1 percent from the same month a year ago, and pending sales were up year-over-year for the first time in 11 months.

Regionally, sales were up in the South (1.4 percent) and Northeast (1.2 percent), but decreased slightly in the West (0.8 percent) and Midwest (1.2 percent).