Tax Credit Helps Pending Home Sales Rise in March

Washington, DC, May 4, 2010--The pending home sales index rose a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in March, and was up 21.1% compared with a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

For March, sales contracts rose 12.7% in the South, 1.9% in the West and 1.2% in the Midwest. Contracts declined 3.3% in the Northeast.

"Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market," said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a statement. "In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales."

In February, the pending home sales index rose 8.3%, compared with an earlier estimate of an 8.2% gain.

Yun added that home sales will "likely become self-sustaining" in the second half of this year and into 2011 if jobs are added "at a respectable pace," and as buyers see stabilizing values.