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Highlights
The pending home sales index fell 0.8 percent in February after rising 0.9 percent in January. The index level of 117.7 came back to the December level, but now stands 5.2 percent below the February 2005 level. This index is considered a leading indicator for existing home sales and the drop in February would portend continued declines in existing home sales. The decline was moderate, however, and does not point to a plunge in home sales.
On a regional basis, the pending home sales index jumped 6.8 percent in the Northeast in February, was unchanged in the Midwest, but decreased 0.1 percent in the South and plunged 7.6 percent in the West. On a year-over-year basis, the index was down the most in the South from last February (-14.8 percent) and down the least in the South (-0.1 percent). The Midwest saw a 6 percent drop from last February and the Northeast was down 1.2 percent from a year ago.
On the whole, the figures are in line with other housing market data and reflect a soft downward trend in housing.
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