Pending home sales rose in March

WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Pending U.S. home sales rose in March, but the spring surge in home-buying may be over soon, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

The Pending Home Sales Index climbed from 97.7 to 102.9, NAR said, rising 5.3 percent after an 8.3 percent month-to-month rise in February.

The forward-looking indicator was 21.1 percent higher than March 2009.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said he expected the surge would fade, as a federal tax credit for home buyers ended on the last day of April.

"Clearly the home buyer tax credit has helped stabilize the market. In the months immediately following the expiration of the tax credit, we expect measurably lower sales," he said in a statement.

NAR said the pending home sales index fell 3.3 percent to 75.1 in the Northeast in March and rose 1.2 percent to 98.9 in the Midwest. In the South, the index rose 12.7 percent to 121.2. In the West the index rose 1.9 percent to 99.9.