Pending home sales data for August was just released by the National Association of Realtors. According to the Pending Home Sales Index, “contracts signed in August, rose 4.3 percent to a level of 110.1 from a reading of 105.6 in July, but is 14.1 percent lower than August 2005.”

David Lereah, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, said that the over supply of homes for sale in the US should be drawn down as the inventory of new homes coming on the market slows.

Just to clarify - homes are considered pending once entered into contract, and stay pending until the sale is closed. Pending home sales is often used to measure the health of the housing market.