Pending Home Sales Rise To Over Nine-year High In May

Pending home sales in May rose to their highest level in over nine years, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. The pending home sales index rose 0.9% in May after a slight downward revision in April, the NAR said. The index level of 112.6 -- 100 was the average level of activity in 2001 -- is the highest since April 2006 and up 10.4% from May 2014. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.