Existing Home Sales Surge in August

Washington, DC, Sept. 21, 2011 -- Sales of existing homes rose 7.7% to a five-month high in August, according to the National Association of Realtors.

NAR said that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million, up from an unrevised reading in July of 4.67 million and above the 4.8 million that economists had anticipated.

Compared to July 2010, sales surged 18.6%.

The median price was $168,300, a decline of 5.1% from the same period last year.