Oct. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. fell last month to the lowest level in almost three years, prompting sellers to reduce prices.
Purchases dropped 1.9 percent from August to an annual rate of 6.3 million, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median price of an existing single-family home dropped 2.5 percent from September 2005, the biggest year- over-year decline since record-keeping began in 1969.
The year-long slump in residential real estate is the biggest drag on an economy that's slowing without stalling. Federal Reserve policy makers will probably keep interest rates unchanged today, partly because of the housing downturn, even as inflation remains above levels that Chairman Ben S. Bernanke considers desirable, economists said.
Purchases dropped 1.9 percent from August to an annual rate of 6.3 million, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median price of an existing single-family home dropped 2.5 percent from September 2005, the biggest year- over-year decline since record-keeping began in 1969.
The year-long slump in residential real estate is the biggest drag on an economy that's slowing without stalling. Federal Reserve policy makers will probably keep interest rates unchanged today, partly because of the housing downturn, even as inflation remains above levels that Chairman Ben S. Bernanke considers desirable, economists said.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, October 25, 2006 at 8:02 AM.
