Other housing reports showed a record number of houses for sale stood vacant last quarter.
(Laura Segall/Bloomberg News)
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes unexpectedly rose in December, signaling that foreclosure-driven declines in prices are boosting demand.
The index of pending home resales climbed 6.3 percent to 87.7, the first increase since August, from a revised 82.5 in November, the National Association of Realtors said in a report yesterday in Washington.
Other reports showed a record number of houses for sale stood vacant last quarter and property values sank by more than $3 trillion last year.
Builder shares jumped on the rise in contracts and on reports the Obama administration, in seeking to stem record foreclosures, is mulling offering government guarantees to mortgage lenders that modify loan terms. Still, restrictive lending rules and further price declines mean most buyers will keep away from the market, extending the real estate recession.
Economists forecast pending sales to be unchanged in December after an originally reported drop of 4 percent in the prior month, according to the median forecast of 28 economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
The pending purchase report showed resales jumped 13 percent in both the South and Midwest regions.
Signed purchase contracts declined 3.7 percent in the West and 1.7 percent in the Northeast.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
