Sales, prices of homes continue to fall

Sales of existing homes fell 3.1% in October to a 4.98-million-unit annual rate, as the stock market downfall and the weakening economy caused homebuyers to stay on the sidelines, according to the National Association of Realtors of Chicago. The decline follows a downwardly revised annual pace of 5.14 million in September and represents a 1.6% decline from the number of existing homes that were sold in October 2007. Prices of existing homes have also continued to fall. The median existing-home price for October was $183,300, down 11.3% from October 2007. "Many potential homebuyers appear to have withdrawn from the market due to the stock market collapse and deteriorating economic conditions," Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said in a statement. "We have favorable affordability conditions, but we need more than that to give buyers with jobs the confidence they need." The report found that housing inventory fell 0.9% to 4.23 million homes for sale in October. Based on the current sales pace, this represents a 10.2-month supply, down from 10 months in September. October sales of existing homes fell in each region of the country. Existing-home sales fell 6% in the Midwest, 3.2% in the South, 1.6% in the West and 1.2% in the Northeast.