According to the National Association of Realtors this past July remained well below last year's levels but the number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes did increase by 5.2 percent which is a sign that the demand for housing is still weak.
Thursday the National Association of Realtors reported its seasonally adjusted index rose 5.2 percent from a month earlier to a reading of 79.4. Economists had expected the index would fall to 74.9 and is still down 19 percent from the same month last year. June's readings were the lowest on record from 2001. It was revised slightly downward to 75.5.
There is usually a one or two month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.
Weak job growth, tight credit and high unemployment, have really hurt the housing market. Sales did pick up this past spring when the government was still offering tax credits of up to $8,000, but once the tax credits expired on April 30th sales have plummeted.
Lawrence Yun, the Realtors' chief economist, said in a statement, "The recovery looks to be a long process. For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity."
There was nearly a 12 percent jump in home sales in the West and a more than 6 percent increase in the Northeast. Sales were up 4 percent in the Midwest and only about 1 percent in the South.
The economy remains weak despite the fact that mortgage rates have been at or near their lowest levels in decades.