US pre-occupied home sales slowed for the seventh month in a row in August as a sharp increase in mortgage rates and rising home prices made buying a home less affordable.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 0.4% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.80 million. That’s higher than economists expected, according to FactSet.

Sales fell 19.9% ​​from last August and are now at their slowest annual pace since May 2020, near the start of the pandemic.

The national median home price in August jumped 7.7% year-over-year to $389,500.

US pre-occupied home sales slowed for the seventh month in a row in August as a sharp increase in mortgage rates and rising home prices made buying a home less affordable.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that sales of existing homes fell 0.4% last month from July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.80 million. That’s higher than economists expected, according to FactSet.

Sales fell 19.9% ​​from last August and are now at their slowest annual pace since May 2020, near the start of the pandemic.

The national median home price in August jumped 7.7% year-over-year to $389,500.