Pending Home Sales Rise 2% in December

Washington, DC, Jan. 27, 2011 -- Pending home sales rose 2.0% in December for the fifth increase in the past six months, according to the National Association of Realtors.

NAR said its pending home sales index rose to 93.7 from a downwardly revised 91.9 in November. The index is still 4.2% below the level in December 2009.

The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.