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U.S. pending home sales grows

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Pending sales of U.S. homes grew 4.9 percent but the market was 4.4 percent weaker than a year earlier, a real estate agents trade association said Thursday.

The December increase in the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index, based on contracts signed, was the biggest gain since a 6.9-percent advance in March 2004.

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The upturn was broad-based, with all parts of the country showing an increase, the association said. The Northeast showed the biggest gain, up 8.1 percent, followed by the West at 5.3 percent, the South at 4.3 percent and the Midwest at 3.2 percent.

The index is a housing indicator based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed. Sales usually are finalized within one or two months of signing.

The association expected "modest sales gains throughout the year, with what I believe are sustainable levels of activity," Chief Economist David Lereah said.

Lereah predicted 2007 would be "the fourth best year on record."

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