Pending homes sales, a statistic used by Realtors to estimate the strength of home closings down the road, stayed pretty much flat in February in the South, a region that includes Florida.

Pending sales in February declined year-to year by a statistically insignificant 0.1 percent in the South. From January to February pending sales increased 4.4 percent in the region. Lawrence Yun, economist with the National Association of Realtors, said the housing market is underperforming.

A sale is considered pending when the contract has been signed. Closing usually follows in one or two months.