By Ruth Mantell
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A gauge of pending sales of homes rose 10.4% in October due to "excellent" housing affordability conditions, but activity needs further improvement to reach a healthy level, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. The association's pending-home-sales index rose to 89.3 in October from 80.9 in September. Pending sales reflect contracts signed between home buyers and sellers, and closing a sale usually takes a few months. A reading of 100 equals the average level of contract activity during 2001. "The housing market clearly is in a recovery phase and will be uneven at times, but the improving job market" will help, said Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, in a statement. In October pending home sales rose in three of four regions: up 27.3% in the Midwest, 19.6% in the Northeast, and 7.1% in the South. The index fell 0.4% in the West. Nationally, the index is down 20.5% from last year.
