Home Sales Fall to Unexpectedly Low Rate - New York Times

Home Sales Fall to Unexpectedly Low Rate - New York Times

Sales of existing homes fell in July to an unexpectedly low rate, a sign that a widespread softening of the housing market is taking hold.

Existing Home Sales Data (Excel)

The National Association of Realtors reported today that purchases fell 4.1 percent last month to an annual rate of 6.3 million homes, the slowest since early 2003. The rate was 11.2 percent higher a year ago.

At the same time, the inventory of unsold homes on the market swelled to a 7.3-month supply, the most in more than a decade.