More Americans sign contracts to buy homes in March
More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March after two months of declines, pointing to a healthy housing market as summer approaches and the economy continues what shaping up to be a rapid recovery
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.More Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March after two months of declines, pointing to a healthy housing market as summer approaches and the economy continues what shaping up to be a rapid recovery.
The National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home sales rose 1.9% to 111.3 in March after declining 11.5% in February and 2.4% in January. The increase Thursday, however was weaker than the 3.5% analysts surveyed by FactSet had projected.
Contract signings, considered a barometer of purchases that will take place in the next two months, are 23.3% ahead of where they were last year, largely due to lockdowns put in place when the pandemic hit U.S. shores in March 2020.
Earlier this month, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. housing construction bounced back by nearly 20% last month to the fastest pace since 2006 as home builders recovered from a February cold spell that delayed projects. Builders began construction on new homes and apartments at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.74 million units in March, the fastest pace for home building since a level of 1.8 million in June 2006 during the last housing boom.
Economists expect new construction to help make of for the years-long dearth of inventory that has stymied would-be buyers. The Realtors said housing starts are forecast to reach 1.6 million this year and 1.7 million in 2022.
“Low inventory has been a consistent problem, but more inventory will show up as new home construction intensifies in the coming months, as well as from a steady wind-down of the mortgage forbearance program,” said the Realtors' chief economist, Lawrence Yun.
Of the four regions, only the Midwest saw a decline in contract signings last month.