However, even the value of regional data may be dubious. The West Region, for example, which showed big gains in June, is comprised of multiple states containing thousands of cities and towns. Some of those areas outperformed the region, and some of them underperformed. The Pending Home Sales Index doesn't show which towns did which. It can't. For everyday buyers and sellers in Northern Virginia , it's the local data that matters. The Pending Home Sales Index shows that more contracts were written in June than in April or May -- a good sign for housing overall. And because 80% of all contracts close within 60 days, we can expect the summer's home resale activity to be high. This leads home prices higher. With mortgage rates low and home sales spiking, now may be the best time to buy a home in 2011. Home prices appear to be rising and mortgage rates should, too.