Sales of New Homes in August Took Biggest Fall in 5 Months
New-home sales took their steepest plunge in five months in August, the government said yesterday. The news surprised most analysts, who had expected the lowest mortgage rates in nearly two decades to boost the housing market.</br></br>Most analysts agreed the housing recovery, like the economy in general, continues to be weaker than normal. But many also said they expect the department will later revise upward yesterdayÛªs initial report on August sales, as it has done to every monthly estimate so far this year.</br></br>"If you look at every monthÛªs sales for the last year, all have been revised upward from the original estimate,Û -said economist David Berson of the Federal National Mortgage Association.</br></br>percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 570,000. Sales were reported down in both the South and West, although they rose elsewhere.</br></br>607,000	rate, their initial estimate of July sales. They first reported that July sales had fallen 2.6 percent to