Pending home sales exceeded expecations in February, up 8.2%, the highest rise since October, 2001, and an improvement of 17% from last year.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) attributes this spike to the buyers who are taking advantage of the home buyer tax credit, which offers first-time homebuyers up to $8,000, and those who are trading up as much as $6,500.

Buyers may also be motivated by the possibility of mortage increases that may emerge later in 2010.

"The rise in buyer contact activity may signal the early stages of a second surge of home sales this spring. The healthy gain hints home prices are continuing to flatten," said Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist at NAR. "We need a second surge to meaningfully draw down inventory and definitively stabilize home values."

Read more about the spike in pending home sales in the NAR press release, CNN Money and the Associated Press.

Read more about the positive trends in the real estate market at Realty Times.

Posted in Education And Training, MBI Headlines

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