The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index ticked up to 112.4 in April, up 3.4 percent from an upwardly revised 108.7 in March. The index, for which 100 denotes an average level of activity, is at its highest level since May of 2006 (at which point it measured 112.5) and is currently 14.0 percent higher than at the same time last year.
The Pending Home Sales index for the West was relatively unchanged at 103.8, up a nominal 0.1 percent from March to April but is running 16.4 percent higher versus the same time last year.
At the same time, despite the ongoing narrative that a lack of inventory versus a lack of demand has been the root cause of depressed sales over the past couple of years, the inventory of homes listed for sale across the country was 17.3 percent lower in April as compared to the April before while pending sales are 14 percent higher.