The number of existing homes sold in the United States dropped considerably in November as prices also dropped. The National Association of Realtors indicated in its most recent report that home sales drop to an annualized rate of 4.49 million units in November, down from 4.98 million homes in October. That is well below the predicted rate of 4.93 million units that industry analysts were looking for.
“The only region where we’re seeing more sales are where bargain hunters are taking advantage of distressed sale prices,” said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors’ chief economist. “About 45% of transactions, nationally, were of distressed properties.”
While home sales dropped, prices were also falling. In some places, the falling prices led to increased activity, but overall the drops only compounded the problems that homeowners are experiencing. The median home price for existing houses was $181,300 in November, down 13.2 percent from the same time in 2007 when the median price was $208,800. Yun indicated that the price fall was the largest the Realtor’s Association had ever seen.
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