Lawrence Yun, NAR senior economist, isn?EUR??,,????'???t surprised. ?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???ve been anticipating slower home sales because many subprime loan products are no longer available,?EUR??,,????'?? he said.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $220,900 in April, down 0.8 percent from April 2006 when the median was $222,600. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less, but there is a downward skew in the current national comparison because sales have shifted away from many high-cost areas during the last year.

Total housing inventory rose 10.4 percent at the end of April to 4.2 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 8.4 month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 7.4 month supply in March.

Single-family home sales declined 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.22 million in April from an upwardly revised 5.35 million in March, and are 11.2 percent below the 5.88 million-unit level in April 2006. The median existing single-family home price was $220,500 in April, which is 0.9 percent below a year ago.

Existing condominium and co-op sales fell 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 units in April from a level of 800,000 in March, and are 7.7 percent lower than the 834,000-unit pace in March 2006. The median existing condo price was $223,700 in April, up one percent from a year earlier.

Regionally, existing-home sales in the Midwest eased by 0.7 percent in April to a level of 1.38 million, and are 11.5 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $166,600, which rose 1.9 percent from April 2006.

Existing-home sales in the South slipped 1.2 percent to an annual sales rate of 2.38 million in April, and are 8.8 percent below April 2006. The median price in the South was $181,100, down 0.3 percent from a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West declined 1.7 percent in April to an annual pace of 1.19 million, and are 15.6 percent below a year ago. The median price in the West was $338,200, which is 2.1 percent lower than April 2006.