Existing home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, rising to the highest level in 2 1/2 years according to a real estate industry report issued Monday. The increase was attributed to the first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit which was set to expire November 30 but was extended.

The National Association of realtors said home resales nationwide rose 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.54 million in September. Home sales are now up nearly 36 percent from their bottom in January but still down 16 percent from its peak in autumn 2005.

The median price of homes sold in October was $173,000, a 7.1 percent year over year drop.

At the current sales pace, the total housing inventory fell 3.7 percent to 3.57 million existing homes for sale. That’s a 7-month supply of homes, down from an 8-month supply in September.

Single-family home sales increase 9.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.33 million in October from a pace of 4.86 million in September, and are 21.4 percent compared to last year.

Condominium and co-op sales surged 13.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 units, from 680,000 in September, and are 40.8 percent above October 2008's rate.

Total existing home sales rose 14.4 percent in the Midwest in October to a pace of 1.43 million and 28.8 percent above a year ago.

In the Northeast, sales surged 11.6 percent to an annual level of 1.06 million; sales in the South climbed 12.7 percent to 2.30 million; and in the West, sales went up 1.6 percent to 1.31 million.