Pending home sales on the rise - Washington Business Journal:

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point rise in pending sales for previousl y owned homesin April. The ’ indexs for pending sales (contracts signerd but not closed) of previouslu owned homes increased for a third month ina row, risingt 6.7 percentage points in April to 90.3, from 84.6 in the industry group reports today. Year-over-year, the index was 3.2 percentage pointsa above the levelof 87.5 in April 2008. Analystds had projected a 0.5 poinf advance. The biggest increas in April was inthe Northeast, where pendingv sales jumped 32.6 percentage points from the previous month.
The association's pending home sales index is a forwardlooking gauge, and the group cautions that it is more volatile than actuak closed sales. “The relationship between contracts on pending home salex and closings on existing home sales is takingf longer than in the past forseveraol reasons,” says the association's chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Mortgage processingt time has increased. It is taking many monthds to close on those home s requiring short sales withlender approval, and some sales are fallinvg through at the last moment.” Still, Yun says he believeds the housing market has alreadyy bottomed out in some areas.
The group last week reportedf closed sales of existing homesrose 2.9 percentags points in April. The association's housinb affordability index also was atits second-highest level on record in April.