Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose more than anticipated in August as investors scooped up distressed properties with cash.
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The 7.7% increase left purchases at a five-month high 5.03 million annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday in Washington. The August pace compares with a peak of 7.08 million in 2005, before the housing boom turned into a subprime mortgage bust.
"Housing's been down for so long, we should take whatever good news we can get," said Brian Jones, an economist at Societe Generale in New York, whose forecast was among the highest in the Bloomberg survey. "Interest rates are low and pricing is attractive, and people are responding."
