Purchases of New Homes in U.S. Probably Rebounded in July

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. probably rose in July for the third time in four months, a sign the industry that helped trigger the recession is recovering, economists said before a report today.

Sales, tabulated when contracts are signed, climbed 4.3 percent to a 365,000 annual pace, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 72 economists. Another report may show the number of claims for jobless benefits was little changed last week.