Dive summary:

• November's data show that pending home sales were higher for the third month in a row, which is a another good indicator of the solidity of the housing recovery.
• The National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index stood at 106.4 in November, which was up 1.7% from October and which marked a 2½-year high.
• Leave out the months when the home-buyer tax credit inflated buying, and the November index is as good as it has been been since February 2007.

From the article:

Lawrence Yun , NAR chief economist, said ... "Even with market frictions related to the mortgage process, home contract activity continues to improve. ...