WASHINGTON – New home sales tumbled in August to the slowest pace in 17 years, while mortgage rates spiked this week, increasing pressure on the new chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help stabilize the housing market.

Sales of new homes fell by 11.5 percent from July to August to an annual sales rate of 460,000 units, the slowest sales pace since January 1991, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The median price slid 5.5 percent to $221,900. The report came a day after the National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell 2.2 percent last month to an annual rate of 4.9 million units, while the median sales price fell a record 9.5 percent to $203,100.

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