US Pending Home Sales surged in October boosted by the South - Wells Fargo

According to analysts from Wells Fargo, The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Pending home sales index surged 3.5 percent in October, following a downwardly revised 0.4 percent drop in September, explained analysts from Wells Fargo. They noted that the South was behind much of the rebound.

Key Quotes: 

“The housing market appears to be finally putting the hurricane disruptions behind it. Pending home sales surged 3.5 percent in October, with the South seeing a 7.4 percent increase. Pending sales tend to lead closings, or existing sales, by 4 to 6 weeks. The South accounts for slightly more than 40 percent of existing home sales, so October’s bump should be good news for existing sales in November and December.”

“The number of existing homes available for sale has fallen for the past 29 months on a year-to-year basis. The decline reflects less willingness on the part of homeowners to move. The median amount of time homeowners remained in their home has risen to 10 years, compared to six years as recently as 2009.”