July US pending home sales rise to 2-year high

A gauge of future U.S. home sales rose more than expected in July to the highest level in over two years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires this fall. The report showed the housing market is rebounding faster than expected from its historic bust. Low prices and the looming expiration on Nov. 30 of a first-time homebuyers' tax credit of up to $8,000 have spurred sales. Prices in much of the country have begun to rise from the depths of the slump. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in July for previously occupied homes rose 3.2 percent to 97.6. It was the sixth straight increase, and 12 percent higher the same month last year. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the index to edge up to only 96.5.

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