MW: U.S. Nov. existing home sales fall 8.6% to 4.49 mln units
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- With plummeting prices, resales of U.S. single-family homes and condos dropped 8.6% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.49 million, the National Association of Realtors reported Tuesday. Resales are down 10.6% in the past year. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected sales to fall to an annual rate of 4.9 million. In the past year the median sales price fell 13.2% -- the largest decline since data collection began in 1968 and likely since the Great Depression -- to $181,300. The inventory of unsold homes on the market rose 0.1% to 4.2 million, an 11.2 month supply at the current sales pace. NAR attributed November's poor results to the weak stock market, job losses and low consumer confidence.
