Pending sales of existing U.S. homes rose only narrowly in February as bad weather and weakness in the subprime lending sector put a crimp on the housing market, a real estate agents' trade association said on Tuesday.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in February, rose 0.7% to 109.3 from a downwardly revised level of 108.5 in January.
Wall Street analysts polled ahead of the realtor report were expecting the index to come in at 108.2.