The decline in contracts occurred as finalized sales are slowing.

The Realtors said last week that sales of existing homes tumbled 10.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million. The decrease largely stemmed from the introduction new mortgage rules that increased the amount of time needed to complete a sale.

Yet home sales are on track to rise roughly 5 percent for the entire year to 5.25 million. That figure would be 25 percent below the bubble-era sales of 7.1 million in 2005.

The limited supplies are pushing up prices as buyers are chasing a narrow inventory of properties. The number of listings on the market has dropped 1.9 percent from a year ago, according to the Realtors. The tight inventory has fueled sales price increases of 6 percent this year to a median of $220,700 — with prices rising at more than double the pace of average hourly earnings.