California pending home sales rose higher in September to post the first increase in six months, reversing the sales drop usually observed between August and September, the California Association of Realtors reported Tuesday.
At the same time, equity home sales — or standard sales, as opposed to say, short sales — made up nine in 10 home sales for the fourth straight month, CAR said in a statement.
California pending home sales rose in September, with the Pending Home Sales Index climbing 2.6 percent from 99.8 in August to 102.4 in September, based on signed contracts, CAR reported. The increase was significantly above the average August-to-September month-to-month change of -3 percent observed in the past six years.
Pending sales dipped 0.5 percent from the 102.9 index recorded in September 2013. The year-to-year drop was the smallest since January 2013, when pending sales increased 2.9 percent on a yearly basis. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the future direction of the market.
— City News Service