8.1% jump in January Pending Home Sales from December

There was an 8.1% jump in pending home sales for the month of January up from December.  This jump in contracts  signed in January has jumped to its highest level according to the National Association of Realtors and was higher than the 1% growth that was expected bringing this to a 2nd straight month of gains.  However even with an 8.1% growth for January, the market is still down 24% from this same time last year.  It is unlikely that this trend will continue for the short term as interest rates have risen back up to around 7% for a 30yr fixed mortgage  up from around 6% in January.   This rise in interest rates is expected to slow signed contracts down in February.