Posted on August - 31 - 2010
Pending Home Sales Show Modest Increase
Pending home sales rose modestly in July, two months after taking a steep plunge that put the housing market into the doldrums.
Signed contracts for home sales rose 5.2 percent in July, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported today, the first sign that the housing market is recovering from the end of the homebuyer tax credit. Pending sales plunged nearly 30 percent in May and another 2.8 percent in June after the credit expired. The report was a spark of good news for the battered housing market. Analysts had expected a decline of 1-2 percent. Pending sales are considered a leading indicator, preceding actual sales – meaning closings – by one to two months, and the unexpected boost suggests the hangover from the end of the tax credit may be less severe than expected. Home sales were brisk in the early months of the year, and most analysts believe the tax credit spurred many buyers to act sooner than they might have otherwise. As a r Full Post…