Aug 23, 2021

08/23/2021 | 10:00am EDT Message : *Required fields Aug 23 (Reuters) - U.S. existing home sales increased forthe second consecutive month in July as inventories improvedmoderately, while prices eased from the prior month's recordlevel. Existing home sales increased 2.0% to a seasonally adjustedannual rate of 5.99 million units last month from June'supwardly revised pace, the National Association of Realtors saidon Monday. Sales were unchanged in the Northeast, but increasedin the Midwest, South and the West. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast sales woulddecline to a rate of 5.83 million units in July. Home resales, which account for the bulk of U.S. home sales,increased 1.5% on a year-on-year basis. The median sales priceslipped to $359,900 from June's record level but was still up17.8% from a year earlier. The sales rate increase suggests the drop-off in sales thisyear from last year's 14-year high may have run its course. (Reporting by Evan Sully;Editing by Dan Burns)