The decline in sales of U.S. existing homes this year will be steeper than previously expected, a real-estate trade association said Wednesday. The eighth consecutive downwardly revised forecast from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicted that existing-home sales would be 10.8 percent below last year's levels as housing-market problems persist. In its October report, NAR predicted 5.78 million existing homes will be sold this year, down from 6.48 million in 2006. Last month, the association predicted an 8.6 percent decline from a year ago. Sales this year would be the lowest since 2002, when sales reached 5.63 million. Sale prices for existing homes are expected to drop 1.3 percent, NAR said. Next year, NAR expects existing-home sales to rise to 6.12 million, down 2.4 percent from last month's prediction for 2008 sales. New-home sales are projected to drop to 805,000 this year, down 23 percent from 1.05 million last year. In 2008, they are projected to drop further to 752,000, NAR said. The trade association's projection for 2007 home sales has grown more pessimistic through the year as the housing market's troubles became more evident. In February, it was projecting only a decline in sales of 0.6 percent from last year.
