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Existing-Home Sales for July

5.24 million

This is a seasonally adjusted annual rate, which is the actual rate of sales for the month, multiplied by 12 and adjusted for seasonal sales differences.

Pending Home Sales Index for July

97.6

This Index measures housing contract activity. An index of 100 is equal to the level of activity during 2001, the benchmark year.

Source: NAR Research

Turnaround Firms Up

The pace of existing-home sales in July jumped 7.2 percent over June, marking the fourth month in a row in which sales are up. The monthly sales gain was the largest on record dating back to 1999. The market is poised for more growth, according to NAR’s forward-looking Pending Home Sales Index; it’s up for the sixth month in a row.

Brighter Outlook for Buyer Traffic

Practitioners’ expectations for sales activity rose across the board, according to NAR’s most recent survey of REALTOR® confidence. Practitioners are most optimistic about the strength of seller traffic. And in a key change, optimism about buyer traffic is also up.

Results are based on 2,709 responses to 6,000 surveys sent to large and small real estate offices. The survey asks practitioners to indicate whether conditions are strong (100 points), moderate (50), or weak (0). Responses are averaged to derive results.