Existing home sales ?EUR??,,????'??? including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops ?EUR??,,????'??? fell 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.98 million units in October from a downwardly revised pace of 5.14 million in September, and are 1.6 percent below the 5.06 million-unit level in October 2007.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said consumer hesitation is understandable.

?EUR??,,????'??Many potential home buyers appear to have withdrawn from the market due to the stock market collapse and deteriorating economic conditions,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??We have favorable affordability conditions, but we need more than that to give buyers with jobs the confidence they need.?EUR??,,????'??

Total housing inventory at the end of October slipped 0.9 percent to 4.23 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 10-month supply in September.

The national median existing home price for all housing types was $183,300 in October, down 11.3 percent from a year ago when the median was $206,700. There remains a significant downward distortion in the current price from a large number of distress sales at discounted prices; the median is where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Single-family home sales declined 3.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.43 million in October from a level of 4.58 million in September, but are unchanged from a 4.43 million-unit pace in October 2007. The median existing single-family home price was $181,800 in October, down 11.2 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing home sales in the Northeast slipped 1.2 percent to an annual pace of 830,000 in October, and are 9.8 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $241,700, down 9.8 percent from October 2007.

Existing home sales in the West eased by 1.6 percent to an annual rate of 1.21 million in October but are 37.5 percent higher than October 2007. The median price in the West was $231,400, down 27 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing home sales declined 3.2 percent to an annual pace of 1.84 million in October, and are 10.2 percent below a year ago. The median price in the South was $161,100, which is 5.8 percent lower than October 2007.

Existing home sales in the Midwest fell six percent in October to a pace of 1.1 million and remain 9.1 percent below October 2007. The median price in the Midwest was $149,400, down 6.7 percent from a year ago.