EHS
4.86 million
Existing-home Sales
Seasonally adjusted annual rate, which is the actual rate of sales for the month, multiplied by 12 and adjusted for seasonal sales differences.

PHSI
89.0
Pending Home Sales Index
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

Signs Brighten in Outlook

Existing single-family home sales were down slightly in June, but NAR’s forward-looking indicator suggests sales growth will pick up smartly in the months ahead. The sales pace was 4.86 million units, down from 4.99 million in May. The pending home sales index, though, jumped to 89.0, from a downwardly revised 84.5* in May.

*Adjusted from the figure published in the August 2008 issue.

Steady Buyer Traffic

Practitioners’ expectations remain moderate but the outlook for buyer traffic is holding up well, with only a statistically insignificant easing seen. Practitioner confidence in seller traffic is down, though. Practitioner views were surveyed in July.

Results are based on 1,562 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.