US home sales fell in August despite easing mortgage rates, more homes on the market

AP Business Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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 kept rising. The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that home sales fell 2.5% last month, from July, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.86 million. 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.