Martin Crutsinger
USA Today
WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sale price dropped on an annual basis by the largest amount on record, further evidence of a soft housing market.
The National Association of Realtors said sales of previously owned homes fell 1.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted sales pace of 6.18 million units, slowest sales rate since January 2004.
The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5% from the median price in September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year price decline in records going back nearly four decades.
Housing, which had set sales records for both new and existing homes for five years, has been rapidly losing altitude this year, as consumers were hit by rising mortgage rates, soaring energy prices and a slowing economy.
But economists with the Realtors say they believe the housing decline could be hitting bottom.
“The worst is behind us, as far as a market correction — this is likely the trough for sales,” said David Lereah, the Realtors’ chief economist. “When consumers recognize that home sales are stabilizing, we’ll see the buyers who’ve been on the sidelines get back into the market.”
But analysts say the weakness in housing could last several months more, with a real upturn in sales not coming until spring.
Sales were down in all sections of the country except the South, which posted a small 0.4% rise. Sales fell the most in the Northeast, a drop of 3.7%, followed by the West, where sales were down 3.1%, and the Midwest, where sales fell 2.8%.
The inventory of unsold homes, after climbing to all-time highs, fell for a second month, decreasing 2.4%, to 3.75 million unsold homes at the end of September, which represents a 7.3 month supply at the September sales pace.
Sales of single-family homes dropped 1.6% to an annual rate of 5.42 million units while sales of condominiums fell 3.2% to an annual rate of 763,000 units.
Condominium prices fell 3.2% to a median price of $219,800, matching the median for single-family homes.