Existing home sales fell in April, extending a trend of declines as the housing market reels from higher mortgage rates.

Home sales in April slowed 1.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.14 million, the National Association of Realtors reported on Wednesday, as higher mortgage rates priced out many would-be buyers and led many homeowners to avoid selling and having to reenter the home loan market.

The pace of home sales is down 1.9% from the year before.

Total housing inventory at the end of April was 1.21 million units, up 9% from March and 16.3% from a year ago.

The median price of an existing home in April was $407,600, an increase of 5.7% from the year before. Additionally, homes typically remained on the market for 26 days in April, down from 33 days in March.

“Home sales changed little overall, but the upper-end market is experiencing a sizable gain due to more supply coming onto the market,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. “Home prices reaching a record high for the month of April is very good news for homeowners.”

The Federal Reserve’s mission to quash inflation by hiking interest rates has roiled the housing market. That is because when the Fed’s target rate rises, or anticipations are that it will remain elevated for longer, mortgage rates tend to trend upward.

As of this week, the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was 7.05%, according to Mortgage News Daily, which tracks daily changes in rates. That is down from last year’s peak of above 8%, although it is far higher than back in December.

Typically, higher mortgage rates cut into demand, and homebuying slows.

This monetary tightening cycle has seen an additional dynamic suppressing home sales. When the Fed cut interest rates in 2020, mortgage rates flatlined at historic lows and caused consumers to gobble up new real estate. But when the Fed quickly began hiking rates, it caused people to hold off on selling their existing homes, dampening inventory and increasing demand for new homes.

New home sales increased 8.8% from February to 693,000, according to a recent report from the Census Bureau. The number of new home sales is 8.3% higher than it was in March of last year, owing in part to dampened inventory of existing homes.

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Still, in a bit of good news, housing starts, the change in the number of new residential buildings that began construction, rose 5.7% from March to this past month.

They are now at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.44 million. From April 2023, they fell 2%.