A leading indicator of future home sales jumped 7.3% in the November to its highest level in more than 19 months, according to the National Association of Realtors.
The increase in the pending-sales index comes on the heels of a 10.4% spike in the index in October.
"The sustained rise in contract activity suggests that closed existing-home sales should continue to improve in the months ahead," the group's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said in a press release Thursday.
The Realtors' pending-sales index is based on signed contracts. But it doesn't always translate into actual sales that are slated to close in a month or two.
During the summer this follow-through was disrupted by unusually high contract cancellations because of appraisal and mortgage issues. But actual sales have been rising in recent months. "Some of the increase in pending home sales appears to be from buyers recommitting after an initial contract ran into problems," Yun said.
The group's economists are forecasting existing-home sales will total 4.45 million in 2012, up 4.7% from 4.25 million this year.
