It appears existing-home sales won’t drop off at the end of the summer, as sales contracts rose modestly in July, reflecting an overall upward trend for the past seven months, according to National Association of REALTORS® data.
The housing market has begun the second half of 2015 on an upbeat note, with NAR’s Pending Home Sales Index — a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings — inching up 0.5 percent in July to 110.9. It is now 7.4 percent above year-ago levels.