Pending home sales in the U.S. unexpectedly saw further downside in the month of January, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors on Thursday.
NAR said its pending home sales index slid by 0.8 percent to 70.9 in January after plunging by 7.4 percent to a revised 71.5 in December.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
The unexpected decrease by pending home sales reflected significant weakness in the Northeast and South, where pending home sales tumbled by 5.7 percent and 4.5 percent, respectively.
On the other hand, the report said pending home sales in the Midwest and West surged by 5.0 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively.