Pending home sales inch up in U.S., Northeast - Pittsburgh Business Times:

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New figures from the show its Pendingt HomeSales Index, a forward-looking indicatoer based on contracts signed in May, increasesd 0.1 percent to 90.7 in April. That reading is 6.7 percenrt higher than in May 2008 when itwas 85. The last time therwe were four consecutive monthly gains was inOctober 2004, a promisingb sign for a still deeply depressedc housing sector. A sale is listed as pendiny when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not which usually takes anothetr one or two An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activityduring 2001, the first year to be examines as well as the first of five consecutive recordf years for existing-home sales.
The Pending Home Saled Index in the Northeas trose 3.1 percent to 80.9 in May and is 6.8 percent abovs a year ago. In the Midwest the index slippe 1.3 percent to 89.2 but is 11.4 percent above May 2008. The index in the South declined 1.7 percenyt to 92.6 in May but is 7.9 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the indexz rose 2.2 percent to 96.9 and is 0.7 percentr above May 2008.