Sales of existing US homes unexpectedly fell last month for the first time since March, signaling the housing recovery will be slow to gain speed.

Purchases dropped 2.7 percent in August to a 5.1 million annual rate, the second-highest level in the last 23 months, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday in Washington. The median price dropped 12.5 percent from August 2008.

Existing home sales were forecast to rise to a 5.35 million annual rate.