Sales of Existing U.S. Homes Probably Rose From Eight-Month Low

An increase in sales of previously owned U.S. homes in August probably failed to make up for the prior month’s decline as rising unemployment and foreclosures weighed on the industry, economists said before today’s report.

Purchases climbed 1.7 percent to a 4.75 million annual rate after falling to a 4.67 million pace in July that was the slowest since November 2010, according to the median of 74 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey.