by Calculated Risk on 9/30/2020 10:03:00 AM

From the NAR: Pending Home Sales Index Reaches Record High as Sales Ascend 8.8% in August

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signings, rose 8.8% to 132.8 – a record high – in August. Year-over-year, contract signings rose 24.2%. An index of 100 is equal to the level of contract activity in 2001.
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The Northeast PHSI grew 4.3% to 117.1 in August, a 26.0% jump from a year ago. In the Midwest, the index rose 8.6% to 124.5 last month, up 25.0% from August 2019.

Pending home sales in the South increased 8.6% to an index of 154.2 in August, up 23.6% from August 2019. The index in the West rose 13.1% in August to 120.3, up 23.6% from a year ago.
emphasis added

This was above expectations for this index. Note: Contract signings usually lead sales by about 45 to 60 days, so this would usually be for closed sales in September and October.