Pending Home Sales Rise Again in July

Washington, DC, Aug. 29, 2012 -- Pending home sales rose 2.4% in July to the highest level since April 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors.

NAR said its pending-home-sales index rose to 101.7 in July from 99.3 in June, a 12.4% increase from July 2011.

"While the month-to-month movement has been uneven, more importantly we now have 15 consecutive months of year-over-year gains in contract activity," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the NAR, in a press release.

Existing-home sales are projected to rise 8% to 9% in this year, followed by another 7% to 8% gain in 2013.