WASHINGTON — The number of buyers who signed contracts to purchase previously occupied homes increased in July but remained well below last year’s levels, a sign that demand for housing remains weak.
The National Association of Realtors said Thursday its seasonally adjusted index rose 5.2 percent from a month earlier to a reading of 79.4.
A reading of 100 indicates the average level of sales activity in 2001, when the index started. The reading was above that threshold from March 2003 through May 2007. It sank during the recession, only to surge above 100 a year ago when the government first offered tax incentives to spur sales.
When the credits expired in April, the index sank. June’s reading of 75.5 was the lowest on record.
Even with the July increase, the latest reading was 19 percent below the same month last year and home sales are at the lowest level in more than a decade.
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