Existing Home Sales Rise, Prices Fall

[Joseph Burkeson, CMI]

Existing Home Sales Rise, Prices Fall
Nov 28 10:09 AM US/Eastern
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON

Sales of existing homes posted a tiny increase in October, the first gain in eight months, but the median price of homes sold last month fell by a record amount.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that existing home sales edged up 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.24 million.

It marked the first sales increase since February. However, the median, or midpoint, price for a home sold dropped to $221,000 in October, a decline of 3.5 percent from a year ago. That was the biggest year-over-year price decline on record.

It marked the third straight month that home prices have fallen compared to the same period a year ago, the longest stretch of such declines on record.