By Xavier Fontdegloria

The number of houses going under contract in the U.S. increased slightly in May, ending a six-month streak of declines, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Monday.

--The Pending Home Sales Index, a leading indicator of home sales based on contract signings, rose 0.7% on month to 99.9 in May.

--Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal expected sales to fall 4% on month.

--May Pending home sales were 13.6% below the same month a year earlier.

--Despite the small gain in pending sales from the prior month, the housing market is undergoing a transition because of much higher mortgage rates, said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist.

--The increase in pending home sales in May was driven by a sharp 15.4% monthly rise in the U.S. Northeast region, followed by a marginal 0.2% advance in the South. Transactions fell in both the West and the Midwest, by 5% and by 1.7%, respectively, the data showed.

Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 27, 2022 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)