(Kitco News) - Hopes for a stabilizing U.S. housing market are rising after the number of potential home buyers rose sharply in March, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
U.S. pending home sales index rose 3.4% in March, the NAR announced Thursday, after February’s 1.6% rise. The data was much better than forecasts, as economists were expecting to see only a 0.3% increase.
For the year, pending home sales moved into positive territory, up 0.1%, against expectations for a -4.0% print.
“March's Pending Home Sales Index – at 78.2 – marks the best performance in a year, but it still remains in a fairly narrow range over the last 12 months without a measurable breakout,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Meaningful gains will only occur with declining mortgage rates and rising inventory.”
The better-than-expected housing market data is helping gold remain in positive territory on Thursday. Spot gold last traded at $2,321.79 per ounce, up 0.26% on the day.
Economists pay close attention to pending home sales because the report is a leading indicator of existing home sales given that contracts are signed a few months before homes are actually sold.
The U.S. housing market has been trying to stabilize after seeing significant weakness through most of 2023 and early 2024. Many potential home buyers have been priced out of the market due to rising prices and higher mortgage rates.
The Federal Reserve’s restrictive monetary policy stance through the first months of 2024 has continued to support higher mortgage rates.
