Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in August to the slowest annual pace in nearly a year even as mortgage rates eased and the supply of properties on the market continued to rise.
Existing home sales fell 2.5% last month, from July, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.
Sales fell 4.2% compared with August last year. The latest home sales were short of the 3.9 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet.
Home prices increased on an annual basis for the 14th consecutive month. The national median sales price rose 3.1% from a year earlier to $416,700. That's the highest median price for the month of August on records going back to 1999.
"Home sales were disappointing again in August, but the recent development of lower mortgage rates coupled with increasing inventory is a powerful combination that will provide the environment for sales to move higher in future months," said Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist.
