Pending sales of existing US homes rose only narrowly in February as bad weather and weakness in the subprime lending sector put a crimp on the housing market, a real estate agents' trade association said on Tuesday.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in February, rose 0.7 percent to 109.3 from a downwardly revised level of 108.5 in January. Wall Street analysts polled ahead of the realtor report were expecting the index to come in at 108.2.
Higher delinquencies among subprime borrowers with damaged credit will put downward pressure on homes sales this year, said David Lereah, NAR's chief economist.