NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Existing home sales surged in October to the highest level in more than 2-1/2 years, according to a real estate industry report issued Monday.

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 10.1% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units, up from the downwardly revised rate of 5.54 million in September.

The sales beat forecasts of 5.7 million annual units, according to a consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Briefing.com, and were 23.5% above the 4.94 million-unit pace of 12 months ago.

Sales activity is the highest since February 2007, when the annual rate was 6.55 million.

The gain was likely due to an influx of buyers looking to take advantage of an $8,000 tax credit that the Obama administration made available for qualified first-time home buyers, the report said.

The tax credit was scheduled to expire at the end of November, but it has been extended to April 30 and expanded to include more home buyers.

"Many buyers have been rushing to beat the deadline ... and similarly robust sales may be occurring in November," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said in a statement.

But such a spike means December and early 2010 will probably see a "measurable decline before another surge in spring and early summer," Yun said.

The median price of homes sold in October was $173,100, a 7.1% year-over-year drop. Distressed properties comprised 30% of the houses sold during the month.

The sales increase helped reduce some of the supply of homes on the market. Total housing inventory fell 3.7% to 3.57 million existing homes for sale. That's a 7-month supply, down from an 8-month supply in September.

First Published: November 23, 2009: 10:08 AM ET

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You would hate to lose "that one buyer" wouldn't you?

Do you agree or not???

Cathy Cataletto

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Could the foreclosure plague be ending?

Foreclosure filings were down 3% in October, the third consecutive month-over-month dip, according to RealtyTrac, the online seller of foreclosed homes.

To be sure, foreclosure rates are still elevated from a year ago: They're up 18% compared with October 2008. But the month-over-month decrease followed a 4% drop in filings during September and a 1% fall in August.

Where does your state rank?

"Three consecutive monthly declines is unprecedented for our report, and, on first blush, an indication that the foreclosure tide may be turning," said James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO, in a prepared statement.

He cautioned, however, that three consecutive singles does not constitute a hitting streak. So there still may be dark days ahead.

"The fundamental forces driving foreclosure activity in this housing downturn -- high-risk mortgages, negative equity, and unemployment -- continue to loom over any nascent recovery," he said. "And despite all the efforts and resources directed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure, we continue to see foreclosure activity levels that are substantially higher than a year ago in most states."

Broad economic distress, such as the rising unemployment rate, has RealtyTrac spokesman Rick Sharga thinking that declining foreclosures may be artificial rather than a real trend. "Processing delays and legislative actions are slowing down foreclosures," not actual improvement in the market, he said.

The slowdowns include banks taking time to judge whether some loans are eligible for the Making Home Affordable program, President Obama's foreclosure-prevention initiative that was passed last spring.

And new state-level regulations have also lowered foreclosure statistics. One such rule that took effect July 1 in Nevada allows homeowners who receive notices of default to demand mandatory mediation with their lenders.

As a result, "There was a 27% drop in filings in October in Las Vegas," said Sharga. "That hasn't happened in, like, forever."

Those factors may have especially delayed bank repossessions. RealtyTrac reported 77,077 REOs in October, down 12.2% compared to September, when nearly 88,000 homes were lost. For the year, there have been a total of 700,929 properties taken back by banks.

Home prices on the increase

One positive trend is that home prices have recorded modest gains over the past few months. As a result, fewer mortgage borrowers owe more than their homes are worth. And that's good news for the foreclosure rate.

Foreclosures require a double trigger, said Sharga. The first is that mortgage borrowers must have experienced a financial setback, such as medical bills, divorce, unemployment and the like.

The second trigger is owing more on the mortgage than the home is worth. Millions of borrowers are in that position: More than 20% of borrowers are underwater, according to Zillow.

Most will continue to pay off their mortgages. However, if a family member loses their job or someone gets sick or the loan resets to a much higher interest rate, that's when the home may be lost.

Homeowners with positive home equity are in less jeopardy. Even if they run into unexpected expenses or periods of unemployment, they can tap their home value, via a home equity loan or cash-out refinance, to tide them over.

The usual suspects

The "sand states," Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona, continued to suffer the worst foreclosure problems. Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, one filing for every 80 housing units.

In second place was California, where filings dipped 1% to one filing for every 156 households. The state, by far the most heavily populated, had more filings, 85,420, than any other.

Florida, with 51,911 filings, had the third highest foreclosure rate, one for every 168 households. Arizona was fourth with one for every 200.

Idaho has moved up the list of worst foreclosure states this year; it had a rate of one filing for every 255 households during October, more than double its rate in October 2008 and good for fifth place among states.

Other huge rate increases were recorded by New Mexico, up 371% year-over-year; Hawaii, which recorded a 134% spike; Wisconsin, up 128%; and Maryland, where filings jumped 124%.

Las Vegas is still the worst hit metro area. More than one in every 68 households received a filing during October, fives times the national average. First Published: November 12, 2009: 3:47 AM ET

Obama set to sign a big tax break for homebuyers

WASHINGTON - Missed out on Cash for Clunkers? Congress has another deal for you: Buy a home before May 1 and collect up to $6,500 from the government. If you're a first-time homebuyer, get up to $8,000.

As part of the government's efforts to encourage people to spend money to help revive the economy, the House voted 403-12 Thursday to expand a popular tax credit for homebuyers. The bill, which also extends unemployment benefits and expands a tax break for money-losing businesses, now goes to President Barack Obama, who plans to sign it Friday.

First-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 since January as part of the economic stimulus package. But with that housing program scheduled to expire at the end of November, the House voted to extend it into the spring - and to expand it to many people who already own homes.

Buyers who have owned their current homes at least five years would be eligible, subject to income limits, for tax credits of up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers - or people who haven't owned homes in the previous three years - could get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign purchase agreements before May 1 and close before July 1.

"It's huge. I think it's going to have a big impact," said Patti Ketcham, who owns a real estate firm in Tallahassee, Fla. "I hope I'm right. Golly, I hope I'm right."

Like housing markets across the country, Tallahassee's has been depressed since even before the nation's economy plunged into recession. There was no huge boom and bust like there was in many coastal areas, Ketcham said, "but ask anybody trying to sell a house and they'll tell you it's been no fun."

The credit is available for the purchase of principal homes costing $800,000 or less, meaning vacation homes are ineligible. The credit would be phased out for individuals with annual incomes above $125,000 and for joint filers with incomes above $225,000.

Real estate agents say the first-time homebuyers' tax credit that's already in effect has boosted sales, much in the same way the Cash for Clunkers program increased auto sales last summer by paying car buyers as much as $4,500 for exchanging their old gas guzzlers for new, more fuel efficient models.

The agents hope the expanded housing credit will help stabilize housing markets during typically slow sales months in the winter. Today, many would-be buyers are still worried that home values could drop further, said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors.

"Once the consumer fear factor disappears, then housing can move into a sustainable recovery," Yun said. "I think we will be there by the middle of next year."

Yun said the tax credit has helped to increase demand and reduce inventory, enabling sellers to get higher prices than they would have otherwise.

About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers had qualified for the credit through August. The Realtors estimate that 350,000 of those buyers would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

The real estate industry, including Realtors, home builders and mortgage bankers, have lobbied hard for the expanded tax credit. Lawmakers said the program will not be extended again.

Critics say the tax credit is poorly targeted because the vast majority of people receiving it would have bought homes anyway.

"Essentially we're giving money to people for doing nothing different," said Ted Gayer, co-director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

But Susan Marvin, president of Marvin Windows and Doors in Warroad, Minn., near the Canadian border, said the economic benefits can be broad. She said, "If people are buying a home, they are far more likely to replace products or upgrade products."

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said, "This tax credit has created jobs in the housing industry and real estate, and it will continue to create more jobs throughout our country."

Extending and expanding the tax credit for homebuyers is projected to cost the government about $10.8 billion in lost taxes.

The credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a primary residence, up to a maximum of $8,000 for first-time homebuyers and $6,500 for others.

Taxpayers can claim the credit on their federal income tax returns. If the credit exceeds their tax bill, the government will issue a payment. Taxpayers who want immediate refunds can amend their tax returns for 2008 to claim the credit.

Also on Thursday, the government-controlled mortgage company Fannie Mae announced a new program that could allow thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure to have the option of renting their homes for a time from the company.

But the effort is likely to affect a relatively small number of people in comparison to the number of homes being repossessed.

The homebuyers tax credit is one of two tax breaks totaling more than $21 billion that were included in a bill extending unemployment benefits for those without jobs for more than a year. The other tax break would allow money-losing companies to use current losses to offset taxable profits earned in the previous five years.

That break would help industries that have suffered big losses in the recession, including retailers, homebuilders and newspapers.

Expanding the tax credit for money-losing companies is projected to cost $10.4 billion.

The tax breaks would be paid for largely by delaying a tax break for multinational companies that pay foreign taxes. It was passed in 2004 and originally was to have taken effect this year, but would now be delayed until 2018.

The bill is H.R. 3548.

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