Pending sales of existing homes rose slightly in October, defying predictions, but figures are still down from a year ago amid an undeniable downturn in the housing market, according to data released on Monday. The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts signed in October, was up 0.6 percent to 87.2 from an upwardly revised index of 86.7 in September. The forecast was better than had been expected by economists, who had forecast a decline of 1 percent. The data, which measures contracts signed on sales that have yet to close, helped lift U.S. stock prices and weighed on prices for government bonds. But the positive news was not enough to fuel speculation about a housing market recovery. Year-over-year, pending sales were still down 18.4 percent, the third largest drop since the trade group began keeping such records in January 2001. Only the declines registered in August and September were deeper. Existing home sales should hit a pace of 5.70 million in 2008 compared to an expected 5.67 million this year, NAR said. It said median home prices would likely fall 1.9 percent this year, but rise 0.3 percent in 2008 to $218,300.
