US existing home sales fell more sharply than forecast in June and dragged the annual sales pace to a 10-year low, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday.
Home resales fell 2.6 per cent from May to a 4.86 million-unit annual rate. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting sales to fall to a 4.93 million-unit pace, from the 4.99 million rate initially reported for May.
The June rate was the lowest since a 4.83 million rate in early 1998, the Realtors said.
The inventory of homes for sale held steady at 4.49 million homes or an 11.1 months' supply at the current sales pace. The median national home price declined 6.1 per cent from a year ago to $215,100.
US Treasuries, which benefit from signs of economic weakness, slightly extended gains after the data while the US dollar declined and stock prices fell.
Sales were off in three regions while the West saw a 1 per cent increase. In the Northeast, sales were off 6.6 per cent while they were down 3.4 per cent in the Midwest and off 3.1 in the South.
While the sales pace hit a decade low, the Realtors said that the figure held steady in the range seen in recent months.
"This is consistent with a stable sales pace," said Lawrence Yun, the Realtors chief economist.