While the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index rose 1.4 percent from 109.1 in February to 110.5 in March and measures 1.4 percent higher versus the same time last year, contract activity dropped in the West, both month-over-month and year-over-year.
The Pending Home Sales Index for the West, for which 100 denotes an average level of activity, fell 1.8 percent in March to a below average 95.3, down 7.9 percent versus the same time last year.
Pending sales in the West have declined in four of the last five months and are lower on a year-over-year basis for the third month in a row.