Sales of existing homes in the United States fell for the fifth straight month in August, reinforcing impressions of a rapidly declining housing market in the face of higher interest rates. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday that existing home sales fell 0.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.30 million units. The weakness in existing home sales depressed home prices as well; the median price of an existing home in August fell to $225,000 some 1.7 percent lower than the August 2005 peak. NAR s report said the U.S. housing market has undergone its first year-over-year price decline in more than 11 years. The housing sector enjoyed five boom years of record sales, but has slowed sharply this year. The inventory of unsold homes rose 1.5 percent to an all-time high of 3.92 million units. At the August sales pace, it would take 7.5 months to sell the backlog of unsold homes, representing the longest period since April 1993. NAR said U.S. homeowners are finally starting to lower their asking prices in the face of weaker sales and growing inventories.
