AC

August home sales waned after growing strongly the past four months, a sign that the housing recovery hasn't yet hit its stride. Sales of existing homes dropped 2.7% in August from July, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Thursday. In the previous four months, sales had increased a total of 15%. Sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.1 million — below what many analysts had forecast, although still the second-highest level of sales activity in nearly two years. "It's a little disappointing," says Lawrence Yun, chief NAR economist, adding that the drop in sales indicates a continued need for federal stimulus efforts. "We're on the cusp of a self-sufficient recovery. There may still be some consumer fear, and the stimulus measure is (aimed) at changing that." The decline came even though the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell from 5.22% in July to 5.19% in August, according to Freddie Mac. It was at 5.04% for the week ended Sept....