WINTER WEATHER IMPACTS PENDING HOME SALES

Following a strong improvement in December, pending home sales declined in January, due in part to inclement weather across much of the country, according to a recent report from NAR.

In January, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), which gauges home sales activity for upcoming months based on the number of transactions that have signed contracts but are not yet closed, stood at 108.7, down 4.1 percent from the previous month and down 8.9 percent from a year ago.

A PHSI of 100 or more generally indicates a high level of home sales activity."We are seeing temporary near-term weather disruptions in much of the country, but there is an underlying pattern of stabilization in the housing market," said NAR Chief Economist David Lereah of January's decline.

Despite the weather's impact on pending home sales, the January PHSI was the second highest since August 2006.

**Taken from the California Association of Realtors Bulletin, dated March 7th, 2007.