The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index increased slightly in November, due to gains in the South and West. The index – which measures contract signings but not closings – was up 2.3 percent in the South and 1.8 percent in the West. The regional improvement offset declines in the Midwest and Northeast. Overall, the index rose 0.2 percent from October. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said the market is flattening. According to Yun, job creation and household formation should lead to a fairly stable level of sales activity in 2014. And, though the final months of 2013 finished on a soft note, the year as a whole ended with the best sales total in seven years. In fact, existing-home sales are expected to total 5.1 million for 2013, which is a 10 percent improvement over 2012. Also in the report, the national median existing-home price for all of this year will be close to $197,300. That’s a 12 percent increase from 2012. More here.