Home sales give way as prices enter unprecedented territory
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By ALEX VEIGA
AP Business Writer
Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed for the fourth consecutive month in May as climbing mortgage rates and prices discouraged many would-be buyers. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that existing home sales fell 3.4% last month from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.41 million. Sales fell 8.6% from May last year. The national median home price jumped 14.8% in May from a year earlier to $407,600, an all-time high. The housing market, a crucial part of the economy, is slowing as homebuyers facing sharply higher home financing costs than a year ago following a rapid rise in mortgage rates.