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Economy in Brief

U.S. Pending Home Sales Jump
by Tom Moeller  November 29, 2012

Pending sales of single-family homes jumped 5.2% (13.2% y/y) last month after a little revised 0.4% September rise, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The latest figure broke home sales out of the sideways trend in place for much of this year.

The rise in sales was led by a 15.6% increase (20.0% y/y) in the Midwest and sales also rose 5.5% (17.4% y/y) in the South. Elsewhere in the country there was no strength. Sales fell 1.1% (+0.9% y/y) in the West and slipped 0.1% (+13.3% y/y) in the Northeast. 

Pending home sales figures are analogous to the new home sales data from the Commerce Department in that they measure existing home sales when the sales contract is signed, not at the time the sale is closed. The series dates back to 2001 and the data are available in Haver's PREALTOR database.

The Fed's latest Beige Book covering regional economic conditions is available here.

 

Pending Home Sales (2001=100) Oct Sep Aug Y/Y% 2011 2010 2009
Total 104.8 99.6 99.2 13.2 90.3 89.2 94.7
Northeast 79.2 79.3 78.2 13.3 68.0 70.9 76.8
Midwest 104.4 90.3 95.0 20.0 81.6 79.9 88.9
South 117.3 111.2 110.4 17.4 98.3 97.0 98.4
West 105.7 106.9 102.5 0.9 104.2 100.8 109.2
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