In every region of the country, except in the West, the number of homes under contract increased in March. Pending sales, which are defined as purchases that have yet to close, increased 30.1 percent from February and 2.9 percent year-over-year, realtor.com reports.
The West, which is home to shockingly expensive cities such as San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Portland, had the fewest properties under contract in March. For the region, pending sales were down 5.7 percent year-over-year, but still increased 18.7 percent from February. In many of these places, however, the low pending sales numbers are not due to a lack of interest, but a lack of inventory; the number of pending sales is not going to rise if there aren’t homes to be sold.
The South had the largest increase in pending sales with a 1.5 percent annual increase and a 44.4 percent jump from February. The Midwest also saw steady gains as pending sales rose 4.5 percent from one-year prior and 12.3 percent over February. Additionally, the Northeast experienced an 18.7 annual increase and a 43.4 percent increase from February to March.
Part of the increase in year-over-year pending sales for the Midwest and Northeast can be attributed to the milder winter the regions experienced. Last year, due to the weather, people were not even going out to view homes and make offers in March.
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