Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, noted, “Despite the turmoil in the economy, the overall level of pending home sales has been remarkably stable over the past year, holding in a generally narrow range. We did see a spike in August when mortgage conditions temporarily improved, which underscores two things – there is a pent-up demand, and access to safe, affordable mortgages will bring more buyers into the market.”

Regionally, the South saw the biggest increase, at a 7.8 percent jump. The region the furthest behind last year's numbers is the West -- still down 17.4 percent from last year.

The pending home sales index could continue to rise as interest rates fall. Predictions indicate that the 30 year fixed rate mortgage could decline to 5.6 percent in the first quarter of 2009.