Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes fell in April, as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged prospective home shoppers during what’s traditionally the busiest time of the year for the housing market.

Home sales fell for the second straight month in April, dropping to their slowest pace for the month since the global financial crisis more than 15 years ago. Existing-home sales slipped 0.5% from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of four million homes,