The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports in the Christian Science Monitor its index of existing home sales contracts increased 2.4% in July of this year to 101.7, higher than June’s reading of 99.3. It is the highest number since April 2010 when the government’s home-buying tax credit ended. Even though there is a month or two lag between a contract and a completed sale, a 100 reading indicates a healthy market. The lowest point was in June 2010 when the index bottomed at 75.88. The NAR said sales contracts rose in all parts of the country except the West where the housing inventory shortage is the greatest. Some economists predict while sales of previously existing homes will rise eight percent this year to approximately 4.6 million, that figure is below the 5.5 million a year considered healthy. But as MHProNews is learning, the housing market is slowly beginning to recover.
