“Good news” is probably too strong, but under the onerous circumstances, it’s fair to describe the last of this month’s US housing market updates as incrementally positive.

Contract activity picked up in May, according to Thursday’s NAR update, which showed a 1.8% increase on the most widely-cited measure of pending home sales in America.

Recall that the index plunged more than 6% the prior month, erasing (and then some) a March surge which in hindsight looks like yet another false dawn for the gauge, which has struggled to sustain a rebound from a series of record lows.

The gain for May counts as the third advance in four months, and at least suggests contract signings are stable.

This is a forward-looking metric. Taken at face value, the read-across for existing home sales in June is… well, “not terrible” is probably the safest way to put it.

“Consistent job gains and rising wages are modestly helping the housing market,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said Thursday, before reiterating that “mortgage rate fluctuations are the primary driver of home-buying decisions” in America today.

The figures cap another round of disappointing housing data including sharply lower new home sales, a feeble advance for the beleaguered resale market and one of the worst reads on builder sentiment since 2012.

According to Redfin’s more timely data, pending sales fell 2.3% YoY during the four-week period ending June 22. “There are two key reasons why home sales are slow,” Dana Anderson said Thursday. The first is just affordability. “Housing costs are still soaring and mortgage rates are sitting near 7%,” she wrote. The second is macro angst. As she put it, “many would-be buyers are holding off due to widespread economic uncertainty and recession jitters.”