Pending
home
sales
increased
by
3.4%
in
March
compared
to
February
despite
rising

mortgage
rates,
according
to

data
released
Thursday
by
the


National
Association
of
Realtors
(NAR).
Sales
were
essentially
flat
compared
to
one
year
ago.

NAR’s
Pending
Home
Sales
Index
increased
to
78.2
in
March,
up
from
75.6
in
February
and
good
for
its
highest
reading
in
a
year.
The
Northeast,
South
and
West
regions
posted
monthly
gains
in
transactions
while
the
Midwest
recorded
a
loss.
Year
over
year,
the
Northeast
and
the
South
registered
decreases
but
the
Midwest
and
the
West
posted
gains.

“March’s
Pending
Home
Sales
Index
—
at
78.2
—
marks
the
best
performance
in
a
year,
but
it
still
remains
in
a
fairly
narrow
range
over
the
last
12
months
without
a
measurable
breakout,”
NAR
chief
economist
Lawrence
Yun
said
in
a
statement.
“Meaningful
gains
will
only
occur
with
declining
mortgage
rates
and
rising
inventory.”

New-home
sales
jumped
by
8.8%
between
February
and
March,
reaching
a
seasonally
adjusted
annual
rate
of
693,000
units.
Meanwhile,

existing-home
sales
receded
by
4.3%
during
the
month
to
a
seasonally
adjusted
annual
rate
of
4.19
million,
down
from
a
pace
of
4.38
million
in
February.
Existing-home
inventory
in
March
improved
14.4%
relative
to
one
year
prior,
but
existing-home
prices
also
hit
a
record
high,
according
to

Realtor.com. 

At
the
beginning
of
the
year,
the
NAR
forecast
that
there
would
be
4.46
million
home
sales
in
2024,
a
9%
increase
from
2023.
But
the
significant
pent-up
demand
for
homeownership
across
the
country
is
hampered
by
elevated
mortgage
rates
and
high
home
prices.

“First-time
homebuyers
are
having
the
hardest
time,”

Bright
MLS
chief
economist
Lisa
Sturtevant
said
in
a
statement.
“The
number
of
buyers
who
are
bringing
all
cash
to
the
transactions
has
been
on
the
rise.

“Some
of
these
all-cash
buyers
are
investors,
but
the
majority
are
repeat
homebuyers
who
are
able
to
roll
equity
from
a
home
sale
into
their
next
purchase.
These
buyers
are
much
less
sensitive
to
mortgage
rates
and
will
be
better
positioned
to
remain
in
the
market
this
spring.”

Luxury
buyers
have
also
been
resilient,
Sturtevant
added.

During
the
three
months
ending
Feb.
29,
nearly
half
(46.8%)
of

luxury
homes
sold
were
purchased
in
cash,
up
from
44.1%
during
the
same
period
a
year
ago.
That’s
the
highest
share
in
at
least
a
decade,

Redfin
reported. 

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