LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in March and prices edged lower for the second month in a row, a tepid start to the spring homebuying season as buyers contend with sharply higher mortgage rates and a near record-low number of properties on the market.

Existing home sales fell 2.4% last month from February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.44 million, the National Association of Realtors said. That’s below the 4.5 million home sales economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Sales were down 22% compared with March last year.

The national median home price slipped 0.9% from March last year to $375,700, the NAR said. That’s the biggest annual median home price drop since January 2012.

The inventory of homes on the market rose 1% from February, with some 980,000 properties on the market by the end of March. That’s a 5.4% increase from March last year and amounts to a 2.6-month supply at the current sales pace. In a more balanced market between buyers and sellers, there is a 5- to 6-month supply.

Elevated mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of a dollars a month in costs for homebuyers, on top of already high home prices, have kept many would-be buyers on the sidelines.

The average long-term rate on a 30-year mortgage mostly rose in March, climbing to 6.73% by the second week of the month. Higher rates can add hundreds of a dollars a month in costs for homebuyers, on top of already high home prices.

Rates reached a two-decade high of 7.08% in the fall following a series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The average rate on a 30-year home loan has eased in recent weeks, slipping to 6.27% last week. The average rate a year earlier was 5%.