Shares of homebuilders rise on pending home

NEW YORK - Shares of homebuilders ticked higher Tuesday as contracts to buy previously occupied homes rose for a ninth straight month. The surge in sales reflects homebuyers' rush to buy before the expected expiration of a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers on Nov. 30. Last month, the government extended the credit until April 30 and created a credit of up to $6,500 for would-be buyers who have owned their current homes for five years. The report by the National Association of Realtors showed that every region in the report saw year-over-year gains in pending sales. Typically, there's a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index tends to anticipate future sales. The seasonally adjusted index of sales agreements rose 3.7 percent from September to October to 114.1. It was the highest reading since March 2006 and almost 32 percent above a year ago, the largest annual increase ever for the index.

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