Pending home sales tumbled last month

Pending-home sales tumbled in August, a victim of the sluggish economy??and Hurricane Irene, data from the National Association of Realtors showed Thursday.

The National Association of Realtors Home Sales index dropped 1.2 percent to 88.6 percent in Augustl. The index is based on signed contracts in the month.

It was?the lowest level in four months, Reuters reported. The drop was not as steep?as economists had predicted, however. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a drop of 1.8 percent.

?The biggest monthly decline was in the Northeast, which was significantly disrupted by Hurricane Irene in the closing weekend of August,? said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.???But broadly speaking, contract signing activity has been holding in a narrow range for many months.?

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/29/8035315-pending-home-sales-drop-to-lowest-in-4-months

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