U.S. new home sales fell to a near two-year low in September, the U.S. Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department report showed that sales of new single-family homes dropped 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 553,000 in September, which was the lowest level since December 2016.

Over the year, new single-family sales declined 13.2 percent, said the department.

The sales in August was revised down to 585,000 while June and July sales rates were also revised lower, which means that new home sales have declined for four months in a row.

The seasonally-adjusted estimate of new houses for sale at the end of September was 327,000. This represents a supply of 7.1 months at the current sales rate.

Market analysts believed that the house price was outrunning the wage growth in the United States, making new homes more unaffordable.

Latest data from the top tier mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac showed that U.S. house price index rose 6.28 percent in August from a year ago.

The U.S. Labor department showed that average hourly earnings of U.S. private-sector workers remained below 3 percent in recent months.

Furthermore, mortgage rates in the country could rise further as the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates in December for the fourth time this year.