04:07 PM EDT, 08/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Declining mortgage rates failed to spur growth in home sales this month as affordability continued to cripple the market, Redfin (RDFN) said in two reports published Thursday.

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator of the housing market, were down 6.9% during the four weeks ended Aug. 25, the biggest year-over-year decline since October, according to the real estate brokerage.

The slowdown comes despite the median monthly US mortgage payment dipping 0.4% to its lowest level since February during the four-week period as mortgage rates fell to their lowest level since spring 2023.

The median sale price was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis at $389,975, roughly $6,000 below the all-time high set during the four weeks ended July 7, according to Redfin's data.

Some consumers may be waiting to see if mortgage rates will come down further and home prices will fall while others await the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, the real estate company wrote.

The amount of money homebuyers need to earn to afford the median-priced starter home was up 4.4% year-over-year to $79,252 in July, $500 below the all-time high reached last October, Redfin said in a separate report.

The monthly housing payment for the typical US starter was $1,981 in July, also up 4.4%. The average mortgage rate was 6.85% last month. The typical starter home sold for a record $250,000 in July, an annual increase of 4.2%.

"Americans need to earn more than a year ago -- and much more than before the pandemic -- to afford a starter home because mortgage rates are elevated and home prices are near record highs," Redfin wrote.

Price: 9.47, Change: -0.84, Percent Change: -8.11