Pending home sales rise in October (by Ruth Mantell)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Pending home sales rose 5.2% in October in the most recent data signaling a recovering housing market, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The pending-home-sales index rose to 104.8 in October from 99.6 in September, the trade association said. Pending sales were up 13.2% from October 2011, for the 18th month of annual gains. "We've had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time, but we're seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive," said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, in a statement. By region, October saw gains in the Midwest and South, which more than offset declines in the hurricane-hit Northeast and West. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, and an index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001.