The pace of existing home sales plunged a record 8.6 percent in November to a 4.49-million-unit annual rate, while the median home price dropped for a fifth straight month to $181,300, a National Association of Realtors report showed on Tuesday.
The median home price fell 13.2 percent on an annual basis, the largest drop since NAR began keeping records in 1968 and probably the largest since the Great Depression, Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist told reporters. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to set a 4.90-million pace. October's figure was revised downwards to 4.91 million, from 4.98 million.