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Pending home sales inched higher in July, achieving a rating of 79.4 percent, according to the National Association of Realtor's (NAR) seasonally adjusted scale.
Analysts had expected the rating to fall to 74.9 percent.
That means pending sales -- an early measure of existing home sales taken prior to closing of the deal -- increased some 5.2 percent in July over June, but fell 19 percent short of the rating for July of 2009.
Analysts scrutinize the index to derive an early indicator of a rebounding real estate market. The small gain made in July points to a slow, continuing recovery in the U.S. economy.
"Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability should help with recovery," says Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist. "But the recovery looks to be a long process. For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take a full decade to fully recover lost equity."
