Home sales rise 9% in Sept

WASHINGTON: Racing to complete their purchases before a tax credit for first-time owners expires, homebuyers pushed sales up last month by the largest amount in more than 26 years.

After jumping 9.4% in September, home resales are up nearly 24% from the bottom in January, the National Association of Realtors said.

But the housing market���s momentum could easily peter out if Congress doesn���t extend the credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers beyond its current November 30 deadline. Nationwide sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.57 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 5.1 million in August.

In another positive sign, the inventory of unsold homes on the market fell almost 8% to 3.6 million.