Home sales jump in October, beating expectations

WASHINGTON -- Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.
Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 37% from their bottom in January, data Monday showed, though they are still 16% below the peak in autumn 2005. At the current sales pace, there is only a 7-month supply of