LoanCentral's Real Estate Lending Blog

Pending home sales is an important leading indicator for home sales throughout the US and here in Washington State. Pending sales looks ahead at closing which will occur in the next 30 to 90 days. Often “Closed Home Sales” is reported by the media – but in my opinion, that number is important, but is like looking in the rear view mirror.

This latest report on Pending home sales have increased which means that sales activity in the next few months, including reports on “Closed Home Purchases” will reflect an upward trend. The National Association of Realtors reported increases throughout most of the country for Pending Sales written in February. It was a slight increase of 2.1 % over January – but we can take all the good news we can right now.

Remember that reports on home sales and “Pendings” is simply a report on activity. This leads to important psychological conditions in our housing markets as we’ve seen when the media reports on the doom and gloom – sales decrease as buyers sit on the sidelines. Good news like this could lead buyers down the path to home ownership but there are no guarantees. If we can take the emotion out of it, forget the reports about what other buyers are doing around the country… and focus on the incredible HOME BUYING OPPORTUNITY that we are currently experiencing – the early adaptors who see the benefits will likely be rewarded handsomely as these are the times when wealth transfers.

Watch for my next blog post which I will go into more detail on why now is such a great time to buy.