The housing market continued to show signs of improvement as pending home sales increased 3.6% in June, the National Association of Realtors reported today. It was the fifth consecutive monthly rise.
The association's pending home sales index was 94.6 compared with an upwardly revised 91.3 in May. June's index was 6.7% higher than that of June 2008.
"Historically low mortgage interest rates, affordable home prices and large selection are encouraging buyers who've been on the sidelines. Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower priced homes," National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.
The index increased from April in the Northeast, Midwest, South and West by 0.4%, 5.8%, 7.1%, and 2.9%, respectively.
On a year-to-year basis, the index increased in the Northeast, Midwest and South by 5.8%, 11.6% and 7%, respectively. In the West, it fell 0.2%.
The NAR's Housing Affordability Index fell to 150.2 in June. According to the association, that means a typical household would have to spend 15.7% of its gross income on mortgage principal and interest.
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