Existing U.S. home sales fell 3.1 percent in October, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. The industry group said sales of homes and apartments dropped to an annual rate of 4.98 million units, below the consensus forecast of private economists of a pace of 5.05 million. The level is 1.6 percent below that of October 2007 and highlights the ongoing distress in the U.S. real estate market, whose collapse after a years-long boom has triggered widespread economic chaos and massive losses for the financial system. The inventory of unsold homes at the end of October slipped 0.9 percent to 4.23 million homes, a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace.
