Home Sales Plunge to 14-Month Low as Rising Mortgage Rates Stun Buyers

Home selling suffered a setback in August, both on a monthly and annual basis, as surging mortgage rates kept more would-be buyers on the sidelines at the end of summer.Existing-home sales decreased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, down 2% from July and 1.2% from a year ago, the National Association of Realtors® reported Thursday. The last time sales dipped below the 4 million thesehold was in June 2025. Falling behind the year-ago pace, the August sales snapped a four-month streak of annual gains."Mortgage rates and home sales move in opposite directions, so it's not surprising to see a mild dip in home buying activity due to high mortgage rates," says NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. "Still, home prices are rising, and existing home sales are actually up 1.6% year-to-date through the first eight months of the year." The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 6.71% on Sept. 3, its highest level in more than a year, according to Freddie Mac, as renewed inflation fears triggered a large-scale bond sell-off.At the regional level, month-over-month sales held steady in the West but slumped in the Northeast, Midwest and South. Meanwhile, annual sales declined every...