by Calculated Risk on 8/04/2009 10:01:00 AM

From the NAR: Uptrend Continues in Pending Home Sales

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 3.6 percent to 94.6 from an upwardly revised reading of 91.3 in May, and is 6.7 percent above June 2008 when it was 88.7.
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"Activity has been consistently much stronger for lower priced homes,” [Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist] said. “Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract, first-time buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit because they must close on the sale by November 30.”

The increase in pending sales has been mostly from lower priced homes with demand from first time home buyers (taking advantage of the tax credit) and investors. As Yun notes, the demand from first time buyers will probably fade in another month or two.