FILE- In this March 28, 2018, file photo an under contract sign is shown outside a single-family home on the market in Denver. On Thursday, March 28, 2019, the National Association of Realtors releases its February report on pending home sales, which are seen as a barometer of future purchases.(AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
March 28, 2019 - 8:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Fewer Americans signed contracts to purchase homes in February after a big gain the previous month.
The National Association of Realtors says that its pending home sales index slipped 1 per cent to 101.9. That followed a 4.3 per cent jump in January, which came after average mortgage rates fell from a recent peak of nearly 5 per cent in November.
Slower home price increases, lower mortgage rates and a pickup in the number of homes for sale has spurred a budding rebound in home sales this year, after they slumped in 2018. Sales of existing homes soared 11.8 per cent in January, the biggest jump in more than three years.
Pending sales is a measure of home purchases that are usually completed a month or two later.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019