U.S. Jan pending home sales unchanged

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pending sales of previously owned homes were unchanged in January, according to a better-than-expected reading from a real estate trade group report Thursday that points to the possibility of some stability for the beleaguered housing market.

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in January, held steady at 85.9. Economists were expecting pending home sales -- which are a key gauge of future home sales activity -- to fall by 1.0 percent.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun predicted that the volume of existing home sales will likely hold steady through late spring with a gradual recovery during the second half of next year, crediting higher mortgage loan limits for the expected improvement.

"This additional sign of a stabilizing market is encouraging, and our members are telling us there's been a pickup in shopping activity," said Yun.

But compared to a year ago, pending sales were down 19.6 percent and many analysts said it was too soon to call the market stabilizing.

Regionally, pending home sales were down in both the Northeast and the South and they were up slightly in the Midwest and by 13 percent in the West.

"Forgive us, if you will, but may we suggest that an outsized 13.0 percent climb in prospective sales in the West will not hold up upon further review," said Joseph Brusuelas US chief economist at IDEAglobal in New York.

"Some may be tempted to make a call of a bottom or stabilization in the housing sector, but we think that this is extremely premature. Prospective buyers may be probing the market for deals, but we strongly expect any surge in purchasing activity to a number of months, if not years away," he added.

Prices for U.S. Treasury bonds rose while stocks prices fell. The dollar fell deeper against the euro and the yen.