Pending sales are surging higher as housing bounces back from very low levels.
Getting to a movie theater early, sitting in the pews of an empty church with plenty of time until the service begins, and being seated immediately at a popular restaurant before the dinner rush are all examples of moments in time where it seems as if very few are going to show up. Yet, in the blink of an eye, the theater is packed, the church pews have been filled, and there is an hour-long waitlist at that favorite restaurant. That is precisely what is occurring right now in housing. A month ago, open houses were empty, showings were light, and there was little real estate activity as everyone’s collective brains were still in a holiday fog. Seemingly overnight, buyers have returned, demand has surged higher, and market times have plunged.
Demand, a snapshot of the last 30 days of pending sales activity, jumped 38% in just the past couple of weeks, adding 361 pending sales as it climbed to 1,300. It was the largest two-week rise since February 2021 and the strongest demand reading since October. The current level surpassed the low readings during the initial lockdowns of COVID in April 2020. Demand was lower than the lockdowns in December and January.
