US home sales ended a 4-month slide in July amid easing mortgage rates, more homes on the market

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes ended a four-month slide in July as easing mortgage rates and a pickup in properties on the market encouraged home shoppers. Existing home sales rose 1.3% last month from June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.95 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The latest sales came in slightly higher than the 3.92 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Sales fell 2.5% compared with July last year. The national median sales price rose 4.2% from a year earlier to $422,600.