Pending home sales rose in April for the fourth straight month and reached their highest level in nine years, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Led by the Northeast and Midwest, all four major regions saw increases in April.
The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, increased to 112.4 in April, a 3.4 percent increase over March and 14 percent increase year-over-year.
The index is at its highest level since May 2006, when it was 112.5.
In the South, pending home sales in April rose 2.3 percent from March to an index of 129.4.
It’s a year-over-year increase of 14.8 percent.
NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said, following April’s decline in existing-home sales, he expects a rebound heading into the summer, as long as inventory improves and price growth moderates.
The housing market can handle interest rates well above 4 percent, he said, as long as inventory slows the price growth and underwriting standards ease to normal levels so that qualified buyers — especially first-time buyers — are able to obtain a mortgage.