Sales of existing homes fell for the fifth consecutive month in August as the once-booming housing market slowed further, the Associated Press reports.

The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that existing home sales slipped by 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.30 million units.

The slowdown in sales was weighing on home prices, with the median price of an existing home sold in August dropping to $225,000, 1.7 percent below August 2005. It marked the first year-over-year price decline in more than 11 years.

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The weakness in existing home sales followed a report last week that construction of new homes and apartments plunged by 6 percent in August, pushing building activity to the lowest level since early 2003.