Pending Home Sales dropped by 7.7% in January to a record low of 80.4 (since 2001), following a 4.8% jump in January, originally reported at a 6.3% rise, well below analysts estimates that the index would fall by 0.3%.  The index was 85.9 in January 2008, decreasing 6.4% over the past year.  The Affordability Index rose 13.6% to 166.8, the highest on record (since 1970).  Home sales fell over the past month and over the year in all U.S. regions except the West, where the index rose 2.4 percent to 103.6 and is 13.5 percent higher than January 2008

“Even with many serious potential home buyers on the sidelines waiting for passage of the stimulus bill, job losses and weak consumer confidence were a natural drag on home sales,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR Chief Economist. “We expect similarly soft home sales in the near term, but buyers are expected to respond to much improved affordability conditions and from the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit.”

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