Pending Home Sales Showing Improvement

Recent data finds that pending home sales are holding steady over the past couple of months, while indicating that market conditions have improved considerably since the height of the recession.

According to the National Association of Realtors, its pending home sales index increased to 96.6 in December, marking a 1 percent improvement over November's figures. The December figures marked a 10.9 percent year-over-year improvement, indicating that while the market remains shaky, it has gained considerable momentum in the aftermath of the recession.

NAR also noted that sales had fallen by a 16.4 percent margin - with the market fluctuations due largely to buyers trying to take advantage of the federal homebuyers tax credit that was extended at the end of 2009.

The Northeast and western regions of the country have seen the strongest sales growth, with a respective 14.9 and 18.6 percent growth rate.