LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Pending home sales in California were higher in January than in December or in January of last year, posting their strongest gain in nearly four years, the California Association of Realtors reported today.

CAR’s Pending Home Sales Index climbed 23 percent from a revised 82.4 in December to 101.4 in January, based on signed contracts, the association said in a statement issued from its Los Angeles headquarters. Pending home sales are forward-looking indicators of future home sales activity, providing information on the market’s future direction.

January’s monthly increase was the highest since March 2009 and greater than the month-to-month long-run average of 12.8 percent recorded over the past four years, according to CAR. January’s pending sales were up 1.4 percent from the 100 index recorded in January 2012, it said.

“The strong increase in January’s pending home sales is an encouraging indication that we’ll kick off the spring home buying season on a solid start,” said CAR President Don Faught.

“However, a low supply of available homes for sale will affect buyers, especially first-time buyers looking for more affordable, lower-priced homes since they are having to compete with investors and all-cash buyers.”

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