A slump in America’s housing market deepened in November, as buyers shunned both new and previously owned homes. At the same time, the median prices for houses posted their steepest monthly drop in four decades, according to reports released Tuesday.
Sales of existing homes declined 8.6 percent last month, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.49 million, according to the National Association of Realtors. The median price of a home plunged 13 percent from October to November, to $181,300 from $208,000 a year ago. That was the lowest price since February 2004.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, said that 45 percent of all home sales were so-called “distressed sales,” meaning that the sellers faced foreclosure, or they were forced to sell their home for less than the value of the mortgage.
The numbers released Tuesday show that the housing market, which is at the center of America’s financial crisis, is displaying no signs of a quick recovery.
“They’re about as god-awful as they can get,” said Robert Barbera, chief economist at ITG. “This is pretty breathtaking stuff.”
