WASHINGTON (AP) — A rush of consumers aiming to meet a deadline to qualify for a federal tax credit pushed the number of buyers signing contracts to purchase homes in April to the highest level since October.
The National Association of Realtors said its seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements for previously occupied homes rose 6 percent in April from a month earlier to a reading of 110.9. March’s reading was revised upward to 104.6.
Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would rise to 108. The index also was up 22 percent from the April a year earlier.
The index provides an early measurement of sales activity because there is usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.
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