According to industry data released by the National Association of Realtors on Friday, the sales of existing US homes soared to 9.4 percent in September, thereby marking a record high level during the last two-year period.

The leap in existing home sales largely stemmed from the notable rush by the Americans to benefit from the $8,000 tax credit for first-time buyers which will expire November 30; and the resultant demand for cheap properties.

Statistics from Realtors revealed that home purchases during the month of September increased to a 5.57 million yearly rate, which not only beat the expectations, but also happened to be the highest in over two years.

In addition, with the number of houses on the market declining, the median cost for existing homes dropped at the smallest annual pace - falling by 8.5 percent to $174,900 in September. While the sales prices underwent a maximum fall of 15 percent in the West; there was a 7.6 percent decline in the sales prices in the South of the country.

Commenting on the recent home sales' figures, economist Harm Bandholz, at New York's UniCredit Global Research, said: "The excess supply of unsold homes has declined a lot and this reduces the downward pressure on home prices. An improvement in house-prices is an important condition for an increase in housing wealth and therefore higher willingness of households to start spending again."