By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Buyers rushed to sign sales contracts on previously owned homes in the United States in April, according to a survey released Wednesday by an industry lobbying group. The pending home sales index rose 6% in April after an upwardly revised 7.1% increase in March, the National Association of Realtors reported. The benchmark covers signed contracts, not final sales, which usually lag by a month or two. The federal government has been subsidizing home sales with tax credits of up to $8,000 for qualified buyers who signed a sales contract by the end of April. Transactions must close by June 30 to qualify. The real estate lobbying organization warned that some buyers would not be able to close by the end of June and has asked Congress for flexibility in the deadline. The pending sales index is at the highest level since October, just before a previous tax credit expired. The index is up 22% compared with April 2009. The tax credit brought more than 1 million buyers into the market, according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the NAR. "The housing market has to get back on its own feet and now appears to be in a good position to return to sustainable levels even without government stimulus, provided the economy continues to add jobs," Yun said. Other economists have said the tax credit likely accelerated purchases but probably didn't lure many additional buyers into the market.

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