By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. new home sales were flat in August, matching the second lowest level on record, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. Sales were steady at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 288,000 units, below the 300,000 pace expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Sales plunged in May to a record low after tax breaks for homebuyers expired and have bounced around at low levels over the past three months. New-home sales in July fell a revised 7.7% to a 288,000 level compared with the previous estimate of a 12.4% fall to 276,000. New-home sales are down 28.9% compared with a year ago. The supply of new homes fell 1.4% to 206,000. Supply in relation to sales fell slightly to 8.6 months in August from 8.7 months in July. Median sales prices have fallen 1.2% in the past year to $204,700.
