Rise in signed contracts gives housing market a lift


Associated Press

NEW YORK

People are starting to buy homes again, lifting a battered industry that is bracing for its worst sales year in more than a decade.

Signed contracts to purchase homes rose in November, the fourth increase in five months. That should give the housing market a boost in the first few months of the new year because there’s usually a one- to two-month lag between a sales contract and a completed deal.

Economists cautioned that a major reason for the jump is that people are buying foreclosed homes, which sell at steep discounts. Another obstacle is the sudden spike in the 30-year fixed mortgage rate.

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