Pending Home Sales Flat in January

Washington, DC, March 6, 2008—An index of pending sales of existing homes was flat in January, according to the National Association of Realtors.

However, levels were still down almost 20 percent from the prior year.

January's index fell 4.1percent in the Northeast and 6.1 percent in the South. The index rose 13.percent in the West and 0.6 percent in the Midwest.

"This additional sign of a stabilizing market is encouraging, and our members are telling us there's been a pickup in shopping activity," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, in a press release. "Our hope is that the increased traffic of buyers looking at homes will translate soon into more contract offers."

NAR projects that existing-home sales will remain flat, close to an annual level of 4.9 million, in the first half of the year.