Pending Home Sales remained at the same level from March to April, which was a bit below estimates looking for a 1% gain. While the West, Midwest and South all saw increases, there was a big decrease in the Northeast which pulled the index down overall. Sales were also 20.3% below the amount recorded in April of last year, though this was an improvement from the annual difference of -23% reported for March.

Pending Home Sales are a crucial measure for taking the pulse of the housing market. The data is considered a forward-looking indicator of home sales because it measures signed contracts on existing homes, which represent around 90% of the market.

What’s the bottom line? Tight supply of existing homes remains the key hindrance to signed contracts this spring. Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of REALTORS®, explained, “Not all buying interests are being completed due to limited inventory. Affordability challenges certainly remain and continue to hold back contract signings, but a sizeable increase in housing inventory will be critical to get more Americans moving."