WASHINGTON (AFP) — Pending sales of US homes surged to their highest level in 19 months in November, pointing to improvement in the depressed housing market, an industry survey showed Thursday.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said its pending home sales index rose by 7.3 per cent from October to a 100.1 reading in November.

It was the second straight month of strong improvement after the October reading jumped more than 10 per cent. The forward-looking indicator reflects contracts but not closings on home purchases.

November’s reading at the century mark indicated a return to a “historically healthy” level, NAR said.

The index base of 100 was set on average levels in 2001.

The last time the NAR index was higher was in April 2010 when it reached 111.5 as buyers rushed to beat the deadline for the federal government’s homebuyer tax credit.

“Housing affordability conditions are at a record high and there is a pent-up demand from buyers who’ve been on the sidelines, but contract failures have been running unusually high,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.

Yun cautioned that some of the November gains may be due to delayed transactions as buyers faced difficulty obtaining mortgages.

“Some of the increase in pending home sales appears to be from buyers recommitting after an initial contract ran into problems, often with the mortgage,” he said.

For the year, pending home sales were up 5.9 per cent from November 2011.

“The sustained rise in contract activity suggests that closed existing-home sales, which are the important final economic impact figures, should continue to improve in the months ahead,” Yun added.

The four geographical regions tracked by NAR all posted gains. The West, hard-hit by collapsed housing bubbles in California and Nevada, was the strongest gainer, with pending sales surging 14.9 per cent from October and rising 2.9 per cent from a year ago.

“Lower mortgage rates may be translating into stronger demand for housing,” said Michael Gapen at Barclays Capital.

The average 30-year mortgage rate hit a record low of 3.91 per cent last week, according to mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac.