Pending Home Sales Rise 6.1% in September

Pending Home Sales Rise 6.1% in September By Ken Sweet FOXBusiness The number of contracts signed for home purchases jumped for the eighth consecutive month in September, the National Association of Realtors said Monday, as home buyers moved quickly to take advantage of the first-time home buyer’s tax credit. According to NAR, the industry group’s pending home sales index rose 6.1% in September, compared with the 0.1% fall in the index that economists were expecting. Pending home sale activity is now 21.2% higher than it was a year ago, NAR said, making it the largest annual increase in pending home sales on record. The index is also at its highest level since December 2006. “What we’re witnessing is a rush of first-time buyers trying to beat the expiration of the tax credit at the end of this month,” said NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. The first-time home buyer’s tax credit was set to expire at the end of this month, but now the program is expected to be extended until April. The Senate approved this week an extension on the program while increasing the income limitation on who can participate. Pending home sales are contracts signed for a home but for which a buyer still needs to complete financing and close on the house. That process can take several weeks. Regionally, Northeast sales slipped 2% in September but are up 16.9% a year ago. In the Midwest, the index rose 8.1%, up 17.8% from a year ago. Pending home sales in the South increased 4.9%, up 22.8% from a year ago. In the West the index jumped 10.2%, and is up 23.7% from a year ago.