Pending home sales rose in February, mortgage rates jumped

Higher mortgage rates took some of the juice out of the housing recovery in February.

After a sharp gain in January, pending home sales rose just 0.8% month to month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Sales were 21.1% lower than February last year. Pending sales are based on signed contracts during the month.

Mortgage rates shot higher in February after dropping sharply in January. The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage started February right around 6% and ended the month just over 7%, according to Mortgage News Daily. That gave homebuyers…