Pending home sales jump 6.7 percent – Pacific Business News (Honolulu):

Pending sales of existing homes, or contracts signedc but not closed, rose 6.7 percent in April, accordingt to the . April's pending sales were up 3.2 percent from a year ago, the NAR The biggest increase in Apri was inthe Northeast, where pending sales jumpedr 32.6 percent from the previous month. The NAR'ss pending home sales index is a forwardlooking gauge, and the group cautions that it is more volatilwe than actual closed sales. "The relationship between contractw on pending home sales and closingsa on existing home sales is taking longer than in the past forseverap reasons," says NAR chief economist Lawrencs Yun.
"Mortgage processing time has increased, it is taking many monthzs to close on those homes requiring short salew withlender approval, and some salexs are falling through at the last moment." Yun says he believes the housing market has already bottomee out in some areas. The group last week reported closesd sales of existing homesrose 2.9 percent in The NAR's housing affordabilith index was also at its second-highes t level on record in
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