Home Sales Rise 10% In September

With a tax credit for new home purchases (as a primary residence) thought to be expiring, a lot more homes were purchased in September than expected.

The housing market has held steady for about four months. This is one of the first signs of a housing rebound.

The real estate collapse, principally a dramatic drop in property values, led to our current recession.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The Realtors report on October home sales reflect offers made before buyers knew the tax credit would be extended. "There was a lot of rush and hurry to complete sales" before the deadline, said Lawrence Yun, the trade group's chief economist.

But sales are likely to drop over the winter as buyers hibernate for a few months without the looming tax credit deadline.

The new deadline means that "we're going to see some good activity coming out of the spring," said Pat Lashinsky, chief executive of online real estate brokerage ZipRealty Inc.

Sales, which were nearly 24 percent above last year's level, had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 5.65 million, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.