Pending Home Sales Index Jumps

Led by a hurricane bounce in the South, the pending home sales index jumped a much sharper-than-expected 3.5 percent in October which points to continued gains for final sales of existing homes. Pending sales in the South jumped 7.4 percent in October after falling 3.0 percent during the hurricane swept month of September. The index level in the South, at 123.6, far outdistances all other regions and compares against 109.3 for the total index. October's overall gain follows two months of sharp increases in new home sales and will boost confidence that housing, after a mostly flat year, is pivoting higher at year end.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
No change in September's pending sales index failed to predict final sales of existing homes in October which proved strong. Yet this index has been a generally accurate gauge for what has proven to be a modest year for the resale market. The Econoday consensus for the October pending sales index is a sharp gain of 1.0 percent.