The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports today pending home sales have risen 5.2 percent following a sharp drop in the months after the tax credit expired.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says: “Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery.”

Yun says price shifts should remain modest due to several factors including historically low mortgage interest rates, new-home construction at a 30-year low, and slow but positive  job growth. Housing cannot recover until jobs return to the economy.