WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Falling for the first time in five months, sales of existing homes declined 1.8% in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. NAR attributed the drop to fewer all-cash sales to investors. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the sales rate to increase to 5.2 million in August from an originally reported 5.15 million in July. On Monday NAR tweaked July's sales rate to 5.14 million. The median sales price of used homes hit $219,800 in August, up 4.8% from the year-earlier period. August's inventory was 2.31 million existing homes for sale, a 5.5-month supply at the current sales pace. The number of homes available for sale was up 4.5% from the year-earlier period. August's pace of sales was down 5.3% from a year earlier.
