Mortgage Rates Up further today

With news of home sales increasing even more, and inventories inevitably dropping ...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Enticed by an expanded tax credit, home buyers came back into the market in February, the National Association of Realtors said Monday, reporting a seasonally adjusted 8.2% increase in its pending home sales index.

The index had fallen 7.8% in January and was down 20% from the peak in October, just before the scheduled expiration of the original tax credit for first-time home buyers.

Following February's surprise increase, the pending home sales index is up 17.3% compared with a year earlier.

The increase in the index "supports our view that existing home sales will rebound over the spring, before the homebuyer tax credit expires for closed contracts in June," wrote Peter Newland, an economist for Barclays Capital.

Watch for another update later today, but our advise to all real estate buyers is get under contract and lock.