Mortgage rates hit year-high as U.S. home sales slip in August

U.S. existing-home sales fell 2% in August to a 3.98 million annualized rate, the slowest pace in over a year, as mortgage rates hovered around 6.6%–6.7% and briefly reached 6.71%. Inventory remains tight and prices rose 1.6% year over year to a median of $429,100, with the Northeast posting the largest decline while the West was unchanged. Through August, sales are up about 1.6% from a year ago per the National Association of Realtors.