Home Sales, Good News | featured news

The stock market rebounded Wednesday after a stronger-than-expected increase in pending home sales restored investors' optimism about the economy.

New home sales soared in April as homebuyers rushed to claim the tax credit that expired at the end of the month.

Home sales surpassed expectations for April as government incentives provided a temporary boost to the housing market.

Home sales rose sharply last month and claims for jobless benefits fell last week. The two reports Thursday sketched a picture of a modestly improving economy.

California's median home price rose 11% in February from a year earlier, while home sales in the state dipped for the second consecutive month.

The recovery may have gotten off to a slow start in the third quarter, but a surge in sales of existing homes in November could presage a more robust end to the year.

Signed contracts to buy previously occupied U.S. homes rose for the eighth straight month in September as buyers scrambled to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time buyers.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes in July notched their fastest pace in nearly two years, an industry survey showed on Friday, the strongest sign yet that housing was pulling out of a three-year slump.

U.S. consumers spent more in June and pending sales of previously owned homes also rose, data issued on Tuesday showed, but the biggest drop in incomes in four-and-a-half years pointed to a slow recovery from the worst recession in decades.

Wall Street climbs on reports that show growth in construction spending, new home sales.