The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) leading indicator of future home sales rebounded in May after an unexpected downdraft in April.
The Realtors reported Wednesday that its pending sales index jumped nearly 6% in May back to 101.1, the same level in March and the highest this year.
NAR's pending sales index is based on signed contracts, which usually translate into actual sales in a month or two.
Overall, the PSI is up over 13.3% from a year ago.
“The latest increase in home contract signings marks 13 consecutive months of year-over-year gains,” NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said.
“Actual closings for existing-home sales have been notably higher since the beginning of the year and we’re on track to see a 9% to 10% improvement in total sales for 2012,” he added.
NAR economists are forecasting that existing home sales will total 4.66 million by yearend, up from 4.26 million in 2011.
They also expect the national median existing-home price to rise 3% this year and another 5.7% in 2013.
