WASHINGTON — Hit by a severe credit crunch, existing-home sales fell for the eighth straight month with median home prices dropping by a record amount.
The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of existing homes dropped by 1.2 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million units. That represented the slowest sales pace on record going back to 1999 and was 20.7 percent below activity a year ago.
A separate report issued earlier this month showed that metro-area home sales dropped nearly 7 percent in October compared with the same period a year ago. That report, which is based on MetroList data, showed that the median home price for a metro-area single-family home dropped 5.4 percent to $234,200 compared with a year ago; and the median price for a condo declined 6.7 percent to $140,000. The median price is the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less.
Wednesday’s national report showed that the U.S. median price of a home sold last month declined to $207,800, a drop of 5.1 percent from a year ago, the biggest year- over-year price decline on record.
The October weakness was blamed on the fallout from a serious credit crunch that roiled financial markets in August. Banks and other lenders have tightened credit standards in response to a soaring level of defaults, especially on subprime mortgages — loans provided to borrowers who have weak credit histories.
