Existing home sales continue to sputter

Sales of existing homes fell in June for the eighth time in the past 10 months while home prices edged up at the slowest pace in more than a decade ? more signs that the housing market has slowed dramatically.

The National Association of Realtors has reported that sales of previously owned homes and condominiums dropped 1.3 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.62 million units.

The median price of a home sold last month was $231,000. That was up 0.9 percent from June 2005 and represented the smallest year-over-year price gain since May 1995.

By region of the country, sales fell 3.5 percent in the Northeast and 2.3 percent in the South last month. Sales were unchanged in the West and the Midwest.

David Lereah, chief economist for the Realtors, said he believed that the decline in housing sales was beginning to level out. Sales of both new and existing homes set records for five consecutive years, but economists believe sales this year will post a decline, reflecting mortgage rates that have risen to the highest levels in more than four years.

By state, Maryland and Virginia were experiencing weakness while Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee were enjoying sales increases, Lereah said.