Dive Brief:

• Pending home sales inched up 0.1% in December to a rate of 106.8, from a downwardly revised rate of 106.7 in November, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

• December's rate was 4.2% higher than December 2014. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast a 0.6% bump in December pending home sales.

• The Northeast was the only region to post sales gains in December, with a 6.1% increase. Pending sales declined in the West by 2.1%, in the Midwest by 1.1%, and the South by 5%.

Dive Insight:

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said home sales lost some momentum at the end of 2015, with the exception of sales in the Northeast due to warmer weather and more housing inventory. However, most of the U.S. is still facing significant affordability obstacles.

"With homebuilding still grossly inadequate, steady price appreciation and tight supply conditions aren't going away any time soon," Yun said in a release.

The residential industry views pending sales as a sign of completed sales to come in the next one or two months. ABC News said the lack of stronger sales growth last month "suggests home sales may plateau this year after a solid increase in 2016."

However, housing market reports for this month have been mostly positive. Homebuilder confidence remained at a score of 60, housing starts dipped a slight 2.5%, existing home sales soared 14.7%, and new home sales smashed expectations with a 10.8% surge.