U.S. existing home sales rise to 17-month high in August <!-- no image --> <div>U.S. home sales unexpectedly rose to a 17-month high in August for a second straight month of gains, the latest sign that lower mortgage rates are encouraging buyers off the sidelines.<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?a=OIaK6xf02Z8:B8D-8Tqc_3M:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?a=OIaK6xf02Z8:B8D-8Tqc_3M:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?i=OIaK6xf02Z8:B8D-8Tqc_3M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></a> <a href="http://feeds.reuters.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?a=OIaK6xf02Z8:B8D-8Tqc_3M:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/reuters/UKBankingFinancial?i=OIaK6xf02Z8:B8D-8Tqc_3M:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/reuters/UKBankingFinancial/~4/OIaK6xf02Z8" height="1" width="1" alt=""></div> Posted by Reuters