U.S. Pending Home Sales Increased in February
March 30 2020 - 10:30AM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Chaney
The number of houses going under contract rose in February
before the spread of the coronavirus in the U.S., the National
Association of Realtors said Monday. Here are the report's key
takeaways:
--Pending home sales, contract signings for purchases of
previously owned homes, increased 2.4% in February to 111.5.
Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.5%
increase in February pending home sales.
--Pending home sales were up 9.4% in February from the same
period a year earlier.
--Lawrence Yun, the trade group's chief economist, said,
"February's pending sales figures show the housing market had been
very healthy prior to the coronavirus-induced shutdown." He noted
the data did not capture the impact from the coronavirus and
quarantines.
Write to Sarah Chaney at sarah.chaney@wsj.com.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 30, 2020 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.