Sales of existing homes took a big, surprise jump in September, rising 9.4 percent compared with August, reaching their highest level since July 2007, according to the National Association of Realtors in numbers released moments ago.

Sales dropped 2.9 percent in August compared with July.

The median home price remained depressed compared with last year, however, which goes a long way toward explaining the sales surge. At $174,900, it’s down 8.5 percent compared with this time last year. That, however, is the smallest year-over-year price decline in 13 months, suggesting a bottoming in housing prices may be coming.

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