https://www.siliconvalley.com/2022/09/22/us-sales-of-previously-owned-homes-decline-for-a-seventh-month/ > Sales of previously owned US homes fell for the seventh straight month in August as rising mortgage rates continued to erode affordability and deal a considerable blow to the housing market. > Contract closings fell 0.4% to an annualized pace of 4.8 million, the weakest since May 2020, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 4.7 million. Sales fell 17.4% from a year ago on an unadjusted basis.