Putting the last nail in the coffin of "the weather is to blame" meme, pending home sales surged in the abysmal weather conditions of February by the most since May 2013. Up 12% YoY, any rational economic being would be hard pressed to explain how the weather is impacting the economy when brave home-buying souls ventured out in such masses to buy... as The Midwest region saw the biggest surge in sales... up a stunning 11.6% MoM.
[2]
NAR has rotated rapidly away from the weather meme...
Last week's existing home sales miss brought us this excuse...
NAR's Larry Yun: “Severe below-freezing winter weather likely had an impact on sales as more moderate activity was observed in the Northeast and Midwest compared to other regions of the country."
And now...
NAR's Larry Yun: “Pending sales showed solid gains last month, driven by a steadily-improving labor market, mortgage rates hovering around 4 percent and the likelihood of more renters looking to hedge against increasing rents,”
Charts: Bloomberg
