Weathering the blame

4 March 2010 By Agnes Crane

It s an easy crutch to reach for when economic data disappoint. The snowstorms that blew across the U.S. surely disrupted some activity in February. But they certainly didn t stop potential home buyers from signing contracts the month before.

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The National Association of Realtors reported March 4 that its pending home sales index a leading indicator for future sales fell by a largerthanexpected 7.6 percent. The headline on the NAR's website read: Pending Home Sales Down; Severe Weather Impacting Market.

The press release quotes NAR economist Lawrence Yun: The abnormally severe and prolonged winter weather, which affected large regions of the U.S., hampered shopping activity in February.

In a video posted on the site, Yun specifically says the severe storms that hit New England, the MidAtlantic, and Midwest would not have been reflected in the data since they occurred in the previous month.

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