New home sales in the United States rose for the second month in a row in August, though increasing demand is showing signs of slowing down because of high prices. A Sept. 24 report from the Census Bureau (pdf) showed that sales of new residential houses increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 740,000 units in August. Housing inventory edged up in August compared to July. There were 378,000 units available in August, or 6.1 months worth of inventory at the current sales rate, compared to 366,000 in July, or 6.0 months. Inventory was up significantly compared to August 2020, when there were 3.5 months of supply. “These data suggest that the surge in new home sales during the pandemic has ebbed and inventories of unsold homes have risen to a more normal level in relation to sales,” said Conrad DeQuadros, senior economic advisor at Brean Capital …