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EHS

Existing-home Sales

4.49 million

Seasonally adjusted annual rate, which is the actual rate of sales for the month, multiplied by 12 and adjusted for seasonal sales differences.

PHSI

Pending Home Sales Index

80.4

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 Research

Buyers Wait and See

Existing-home sales dropped 5.3 percent in January, dashing hopes from a month earlier that sales might be turning around. Debate over the massive stimulus package might be part of the reason for the dip, as households waited to see the outcome. Meanwhile, NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index*, based on contracts signed in January, fell 7.7 percent to its lowest level since tracking began in 2001.

*Numbers are adjusted from figures published in March.

Glimmers of Hope

Practitioners’ expectations for sales activity over the next six months, gathered after the federal government passed its economic stimulus package, showed an uptick across all indicators. Buyer traffic is expected to grow significantly with the start of the spring selling season.

Results are based on 2,533 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.