TAMPA The nation's largest monthly jump in pending home sales in eight years is because of deeply discounted existing homes, something of which Florida has plenty.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April surged 6.7 percent to 90.3, far exceeding analysts' forecasts. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, when pending sales rose 9.2 percent.

"The sales are at the expense of pricing," said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst at Weiss Research in Jupiter. "But this is bringing down our supply of unsold homes - and the faster the better."

The big boost, economists say, is largely attributable to distressed property sales, such as foreclosures and short sales. States such as Florida and California, which were particularly hard-hit by the boom, lead the way.

Bay area real estate professionals aren't surprised.

Mena Reyes, who specializes in foreclosures, said buyers are not only snatching up homes, but are also getting into bidding wars on some homes.

Other than price, the new federal $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers is persuading some buyers to act now.

Still, Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, cautioned that the pending sales data are more volatile than in the past because many sellers need banks to agree to take less than the original mortgage - a so-called "short sale." That process is often difficult, time-consuming and can wind up falling apart before the deal closes.

The Realtors' index was 3.2 percent above last year's levels and has risen for three straight months after hitting a record low in January. A nearly 33 percent sales increase in the Northeast and a 9.8 percent jump in the Midwest led the overall surge. Sales contracts rose 1.8 percent in April from a month earlier in the West, but fell 0.2 percent in the South.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.