Image by © Ariel Skelley/Corbis

According to a report released this morning by the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales increased 5.1 percent in March.

The Street reported that the index used to keep track of the number of contracts that have been signed for pending home sales of a previously owned home in the U.S. went up to 94.1 compared to February’s reading of 89.5. When compared to last year, the number decreased by 11.4 percent.

New home sales for the month of March increased 11.1 percent, a larger growth than anticipated, and a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 300,000 units. When compared to the sales figure last year, the number is still 21.9 percent lower.

NAR reported last week that existing-home sales in March were up 3.7 percent to a better than anticipated seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million units.

Despite March’s home sales rate, the figure still remains 6.3 percent lower than the year-earlier level. It is 24.8 percent lower than the cyclical apex of 6.49 million units in Nov. 2009, which was the first month after the original deadline for the first-time homebuyer tax credit.