Both Pending and Existing Home Sales Beat Forecasts:

U.S. home buyers signed more contracts to buy existing homes in March, as weather in much of the country warmed and as more listings came onto the market. An index of so-called "pending" home sales from the National Association of Realtors rose 3.4 percent from February, the first gain in nine months.

"After a dismal winter, more buyers got an opportunity to look at homes last month and are beginning to make contract offers," Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors. "Sales activity is expected to steadily pick up as more inventory reaches the market, and from ongoing job creation in the economy."

The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.

In a separate report last week, The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday Existing Home Sales came in at an annualized rate of 4.59 million units, the market forecasts were only expecting a reading of 4.55 million units.

So, we have two reports that show the housing market slowly moving forward despite higher home prices and tighter credit which is a good sign for the Spring season.