The resale of houses in September rose 9.5%, the largest monthly increase in 26 years. 

This is partly because buyers are rushing to close the deal on their homes before the tax-credit for first time homebuyers expires. This number amazed many experts because it significantly beat Wall Street forecasts.

“There’s a mini-boom going on in the housing market,” said Thomas Popik, who conducts a monthly survey of real estate agents for Campbell Communications, a research firm.

The inventory of unsold homes on the market fell about 7% to 3.63 million. That’s less than an eight-month supply at the current sales pace, and the lowest level since March 2007.