The National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Wednesday said that pending home sales rose in May for the fourth straight month. The news, which comes as sales increased by 0.1 percent to a level of 90.7 percent, is seemingly fresh evidence that the housing sector may be recovering. The increase of 0.1 percent is greater than the no change that analysts had expected, Thomson Reuters reported. The NAR attributes the increase to lower home prices and the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit that was included in the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama's stimulus package. The pending home sales index, which tracks signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes, is now 6.7 percent higher than in May 2008, when it was 85.
