Another sign of a housing thaw

Another sign of a housing thaw, an article from CNNMoney.com, reports that June marked the fifth straight month that pending homes sales increased. The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index rose 3.6% in June and it was 6.7% higher than in June 2008. Five straight months of increases has happened since July 2003. The jump was also much higher than expected - experts put together by Briefing.com had forecast an increase of just 0.7%. Low-end sales have been the strongest segment indicating that the first-time homebuyers tax credit is contributing to the rise. "Because it may take as long as two months to close on a home after signing a contract," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun, "first-time buyers must act fairly soon to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit because they must close on the sale by Nov. 30." http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/04/real_estate/June_pending_home_sales/index.htm?postversion=2009080411