Pending home sales grow less than expected in March

• March Pending Home Sales: +1.9% M/M to 111.3 vs. +3.8% consensus and -11.5% in February (revised from -10.6%).
• Follows two months of declines.
• On a Y/Y basis, contract signings jumped 23%.
• Compared with February, pending sales rose across all regions except the Midwest.
• Compared with a year ago, pending sales rose by double-digits in all regions.
• Existing home sales are projected to rise by 20% in 2021 to 6.2M in 2021, while the median home price is expected to increase by 9% to $323.9K, the National Association of Realtors said.
• Housing starts are expected to reach 1.6M in 2021 and 1.7M in 2022.