As nearly each month passes, home sales get slower and slower. New home sales in August declined 2.3 percent from July. The numbers were up 6.1 percent from August 2010, which isn’t saying much considering that was the 48-year low for the housing market.

The L.A. Times relays the Commerce Department’s figures and quotes an economist who predicts 2011 will wind up being the slowest new home sales year on record. Bargain-basement foreclosures continue to draw buyers away from new homes.

One of the few bright spots for the home building industry is the inventory of newly built homes is so low that any sales boost will probably spark a sizable increase in construction.

Sales of new homes fall in August [L.A.Times]

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