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July was a great month for the real estate market in the U.S.

According to the National Association of Realtors, home sales nationally posted an unexpectedly large increase of 7.2% during the month of July, the largest monthly jump in over a decade. What could cause such a sudden boost in home buyer confidence? Attractively priced abundant inventory, and government subsidized monies.

After nearly a year of financial meltdowns in and around the real estate sector, inventory has been high due to large scale foreclosures and short sales, forcing housing prices in some areas to hit levels not seen since the 90's. This has resulted in tens of thousands of entry level U.S. homes coming on the market at price points perfect for the first time home buyer; whom the U.S. government is currently quite keen to help with the recently passed first time home buyer tax credit program.

This fantastic program enables qualified home buyers the ability to recoup 10% of the purchase price of a new (for them) home, or $8,000, whichever is less , via a government funded credit. This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone looking to buy a home, and one for which is almost impossible for first time home buyers to pass up. Couple this with the aforementioned low priced properties (be they foreclosures, short sales, or just adjusted market value) and you have the recipe for July's gigantic increase in home sales. This increase made July the strongest month for U.S. real estate sales since August of 2007, with a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.24 million sales! And not only was July the strongest month for said real estate sales, but also the fourth consecutive month for which home sales increased in the U.S. (June's increase totaled an equally impressive 4.89 million sales!)

Coupled with the equally successful Cash for Clunkers program, it looks as though the first time home buyers tax credit has helped to jump start the United States economy to a point where, with just a bit more work and continued consumer confidence, the U.S. may finally be ready to exit the global recession; joining the economies of Japan, Germany, Hong Kong, and France among others whom are beginning to post full scale economic growth for the first time in many, many months.

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