Pending sales of existing U.S. homes fell in November but were much stronger than previously thought, a real-estate association said Tuesday, adding that it expects the sales pace to accelerate significantly in the second half of 2008. In another indication that the housing market's struggles are not finished, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said its index of pending sales for existing homes fell to a reading of 87.6 from October's level of 89.9. The pending homes sales data suggests that the volume of sales will hold steady for a while before turning upward before the end of the year, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said. “Although there could be some minor slippage in the first quarter, existing home sales should hold in a narrow range before trending up,” he said. The index, which was down 19.2 percent from a year ago, hit a record low of 85.5 in August at the peak of the global credit crisis. An index reading of 100 is equal to the average level of sales activity in 2001, when the index began. The NAR projected that U.S. existing-home sales would increase 0.9 percent in 2008 to 5.7 million, up from a projected 5.65 million in 2007. Final results for U.S. existing-home sales in 2007-to be released later this month-are expected to be down 12.7 percent from 6.48 million in 2006.
