US: Existing home sales stay flat in August following July's 0.7% contraction

" Existing-home sales remained steady in August after four straight months of decline," the National Association of Realtors reported on Thursday.

Key quotes from the press release 

• Total existing-home sales did not change from July and remained at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.34 million in August.
• Sales are now down 1.5 percent from a year ago (5.42 million in August 2017).   
• The median existing-home price for all housing types in August was $264,800, up 4.6 percent from August 2017 ($253,100).
• August’s price increase marks the 78th straight month of year-over-year gains.