Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Climb to a Two-Year High

Sales of previously owned homes and work on single-family projects climbed in August to the highest levels in two years, signaling the residential real-estate market is contributing to the U.S. economic recovery.

Purchases of existing houses increased 7.8 percent to a 4.82 million annual rate, the most since May 2010, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 78 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for sales to increase to a 4.56 million pace. Commerce Department data showed builders began work on the most one-family homes since April 2010.