LOS ANGELES: Sales of previously occupied US homes fell in June to the slowest pace since January, as a near-historic low number of homes for sale and rising mortgage rates kept many would-be homebuyers on the sidelines. The national median sales price fell on an annual basis for the fifth month in a row, though fierce competition led to about one-third of homes selling for more than their list price.

Existing home sales fell 3.3 percent last month from May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.16 million, the National Association of Realtors said on Thursday. That's slightly below what economists were expecting, according to FactSet, and marks the slowest sales pace since January.