More of these sorts of signs are popping up (November 2011 file photo from San Rafael, Calif.).

They were up 2.3 percent from June and a healthy 10 percent vs. July 2011. Prices are also on the rise.

A 2.3 percent increase in sales of previously owned homes in July from June is the latest sign that the housing market is on the mend, Reuters reports.

The National Association of Realtors said this morning that sales of existing homes increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.47 million.

Lawrence Yun, the association's economist, tells NPR's Dave Mattingly that there was also "solid" improvement from a year earlier. Sales were up about 10 percent from July 2011 and prices are up about 10 percent from then as well. Those are indications that "the housing market is healing and now contributing to economic growth," he said.

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