U.S. pending sales of previously-owned homes were unchanged in January, according to a better-than-expected report from a real-estate trade group that points to the possibility of some stability in the troubled housing market. The National Association of Realtors' (NAR's) pending home sales index, based on contracts signed in January, was steady at 85.9. Economists expected pending home sales-a key gauge of future home sales activity-to fall slightly. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun predicted that the volume of existing home sales will likely hold steady through late spring, with a gradual recovery during the second half of next year. “This additional sign of a stabilizing market is encouraging, and our members are telling us there's been a pickup in shopping activity,” he said. But compared to a year ago, pending sales were down 19.6 percent, and many analysts said it was too soon to say the market is stabilizing. In another report signaling possible improvement in the battered U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell by 24,000 last week to 351,000. Although the decline left jobless claims below the 360,000 that economists had expected, the longer-term picture shows a slowing labor market. The number of Americans continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by a sharp 29,000 to 2.83 million last week, the highest level since late September 2005.
