Having dropped 4.9 percent in December, the National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, a seasonally adjusted index for which 100 denotes “an average level” of activity, rebounded 5.2 percent in January for a 108.8 reading overall, which is 5.7 percent above its mark at the same time last year but still 3.1 percent below its cyclical high of 112.3 which was recorded in early 2017.
That being said, the rebound wasn’t evenly distributed. And having dropped 5.4 percent in December, the Pending Home Sale Index for contract activity in the West shed another percent in January for a below-average reading of 92.6, which is still 5.5 percent above its mark at the same time last year.