To close out last week, existing-home sales were reported to spiked up to their highest level in nearly two years from June to July with home resales bouncing 7.2%. It was the highest month-over-month percentage increase in more than 10 years.

“The housing market has decisively turned for the better,” said Lawrence Yun, the National Association of Realtor’s chief economist.

Not only are sales now rising precipitously, but distressed property sales are also falling. Foreclosures and short sales now only reflect 31% of sales in July.

More and more economists now see that “the U.S. economy is recovering more strongly than expected,” according to a report by Reuters last Thursday. Manufacturing surveys from NY and Philadelphia last week showed strong recovery signs in those regions.

As this week kicks off, the optimism is not lost on the Asian markets. Late Sunday some Asian stock indexes were surging more than 3%.

It is no wonder that consumer and investor confidence continue at 2009 peak levels.

Related posts:

1. Pending Home Sales: Longest String of Monthly Gains in 6 years
2. New Home Sales Jump; Supply Plummets; Prices Bouncing
3. Existing Home Sales Yields Good News Triplet
4. Pending home sales soar 6.7 pct in April
5. Confidence Spike: Consumers, Small Business, Builders, Investors