U.S. Existing-Home Sales Rise to Highest in More Than a Year

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in August to the highest in more than a year amid lower borrowing costs and sustained income gains, adding to signs the housing market is breaking out of a slump.

Contract closings rose 1.3% from the prior month to a 5.49 million annual rate, the fastest pace since March 2018, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That exceeded all forecasts in a Bloomberg survey of economists, whose median projection was 5.38 million. The median sales price rose 4.7% from a year earlier -- the second-fastest gain in the past year -- to $278,200.