Pending home sales hit new highs for the month of August, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Association of Realtors (MAR). There were 4,994 single-family pending sales in the month, a 15.7 percent increase compared to August 2013 and the highest level of pendings recorded by MAR for August since the trade group began tracking this statistic in 2004. This is the 18th straight month of year-over-year increases in pendings.

Condominium pendings also saw an increase in August, rising 10.7 percent to 1,817 from 1,642 in August 2013. This is also the 18th straight month of condominium year-over-year increases, and the highest number of condominium pendings since August 2005, according to MAR.

“A more stable economy, better jobs picture and low interest rates continue to push buyer demand in this market,” 2014 MAR President Peter Ruffini, regional vice president at Jack Conway & Co., said in a statement. “We’re encouraged by new listings to the market are increasing each month; however, with pending sales also increasing monthly, we need the pace to pick up to keep prices from pushing too many people out of the market.”  

Despite the increases in homes put under agreement, Realtor’s confidence in the market continued to decline from its past heights, with MAR’s Realtor Market Confidence Index (RMCI) dipping for the 10th straight month, to 61.14 in August 2014 compared to 69.26 in August 2013, a dip of 12 percent. Realtors were also a little less certain of future price gains, with the Realtor Price Confidence Index (RPCI) also dipping, to 70 in August 2014 from 73.57 in August 2013, a decline of 5 percent.

A score of over 50 on both indices generally indicates a belief in strong market conditions, a score of less than 50 weak market conditions. This is the 10th straight month that the RMCI has declined and the fifth straight month of decline for the RPCI.

“Realtors’ confidence in the market is again in positive territory, but is edging closer to the halfway point between a ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ market,” Ruffini said in a statement. “We continue to need pending sales to become closed sales to see confidence start to move up again.”

MAR also polled its members this month on the factors holding back first-time homebuyers, with agents naming difficulty securing financing as the top reason.