Home sales drop for sixth straight month

In further evidence of a sharp slowdown in the once-booming housing market, sales of previously owned homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped by a record amount.

The National Assn. of Realtors reported Wednesday that home sales fell 1.9% in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.18 million units, the slowest pace since January 2004.

The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5% from the price in September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year price decline in records going back nearly four decades. Prices also fell in August, and the two months marked the first back-to-back declines in 16 years.

The median price is the point at which half sell for more and half for less.

Housing, which had set sales records for both new and existing homes for five consecutive years, has been rapidly cooling this year, but realty industry economists suggested that the decline could be hitting bottom.

“The worst is behind us as far as a market correction -- this is likely the trough for sales,” economist David Lereah said.

Other economists suggested that the weakness in housing could last for several more months and perhaps as long as a year because of a huge backlog of unsold homes.