The Bani Group Inc.

Pending Home Sales Increase 5.2%:  More good news for housing as an index measuring the number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in October jumped to nearly its highest level in almost six years. Steady job gains and record-low mortgage rates have made home buying more attractive. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index rose 5.2 percentage points to 104.8 in October. Excluding a few months when the index spiked because of a homebuyer tax credit, that is the highest level since March 2007. Signed contracts jumped 15.6% in the Midwest and rose 5.5% in the South. But they fell 1.1% in the West and dipped 0.1% in the Northeast. In a separate report, the Case-Shiller Home Price Index moved upward again as national home prices increased 3%.