The California Association of Realtors’ (C.A.R.) Pending Home Sales Index dropped just 0.5 percent from 114.4 in March to 113.8 in April. This is down considerably from the 121.1 revised index recorded this time last year. This slight change from March to April was substantially lower than the 6.5 percent drop from March to April observed over the last three years. The year-over-year decline in the index has been tapering over the past few months and should level off in the coming months, C.A.R stated in the press release that announced April’s index. 

C.A.R.’s index only includes homes sales in which a contract is signed but the sale has not yet closed. Once a contract is signed it typically takes four to six weeks for a home to close escrow, which finalizes the sale. 

Typically in a pending sales all contingencies have been met or waived and  the lender, the escrow agent or attorney are processing the loan and title documents to make sure the deal will close on time. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity and provide information on the future direction of the market.