The National Association of Realtors (NAR) publishes the monthly Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI). It is a measure of how many contracts to sell homes have been executed but not yet closed.
Because the closing of a real estate transaction typically occurs one to two months after the contract is signed, this index is generally viewed as a leading indicator of home sales. For example, if the PHSI falls one month, then it is likely that the number of sales reported in the next 60 days will also fall.
The NAR collects data from MLS‘s and large brokers based on the number of contracts that have been signed in the past month.
The index was first created in 2001. When the index has a value of 100, it means that the number of pending home sales is the same as it was when the index was created. If the index value is less than 100, then it means there are fewer pending home sales than in 2001; if it is greater than 100, then there are more pending home sales. As of the date of this post, the March 2011 PHSI value is 94.1; it has been as high as 111.5 and as low as 75.9 in the past year.
