December pending home sales dip

The National Association of Realtors just released its latest pending home sales figures. Pending sales fell 1.5% on the month, or 24.2% from year-ago levels. Economists polled by Bloomberg expected a 1% decline. The index fell in three out of four regions of the country, losing 1.7% in the Northeast, 3% in the South, and 3.1% in the West. By comparison, sales popped
3.4% in the Midwest. The pending sales index, at 85.9 in December, is just off its low of 85.5 in August.