U.S. existing home sales continued to slide in July as a combination of steep mortgage rates and a worsening supply shortage squeezed would-be homebuyers. 

Sales of previously owned homes tumbled 2.2% in July from the previous month to an annual rate of 4.15 million units, according to new data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). On an annual basis, existing home sales are down 16.6% when compared with July 2022. 

"Two factors are driving current sales activity – inventory availability and mortgage rates," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR. "Unfortunately, both have been unfavorable to buyers."

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