US pending home sales rise

A home is for sale in Glenview, Illinois. The US National Association of Realtors yesterday said its seasonally adjusted index for pending home sales rose 4.5 percent in January from December to 105.9, the highest since April 2010 when a homebuyer's tax credit was about to expire. The gain in the measure of the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes suggests sales of previously occupied homes will continue rising in the coming months. There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.