Lower prices have made homes more affordable for Americans still able to obtain a mortgage, stemming the slide in demand and making it more likely the property glut will clear. The median price of a new home decreased 6.3 percent to $230,700, from $246,200 a year earlier.

On a regional basis, where estimates are subject to large month-to-month variations, sales activity was mixed in July. The Northeast posted a nearly 39 percent gain, the West posted a 9.9 percent gain, the Midwest posted an 8.2 percent decline and the South posted a 2.5 percent decline. Every region registered declines in the number of new homes for sale in July.

Existing home sales ?EUR??,,????'??+ including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops ?EUR??,,????'??+ increased 3.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of five million units in July from a downwardly revised level of 4.85 million in June, but are 13.2 percent lower than the 5.76 million-unit pace in July 2007.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $212,400 in July, down 7.1 percent from a year ago when the median was $228,600. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home prices in some regions could soon increase.

Sales have picked up significantly in several Florida and California markets. Home prices generally follow sales trends after a few months of lag time,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??Still, inventory remains high in many parts of the country and will require time to fully absorb.?EUR??,,????'??

Regionally, existing home sales in the West jumped 9.7 percent in July to a level of 1.13 million and are 0.9 percent higher than July 2007. The median price in the West was $273,200, down 22.2 percent from a year ago.

In the Northeast, existing home sales rose 5.9 percent to an annual pace of 900,000 in July, but are 11.8 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $278,700, which is 4.9 percent lower than July 2007.

Existing home sales in the Midwest increased 0.9 percent to an annual rate of 1.12 million in July, but are 17.0 percent lower than July 2007. The median price in the Midwest was $175,400, up 1.0 percent from a year ago.

In the South, existing home sales slipped 0.5 percent to an annual pace of 1.85 million in July, and are 18.1 percent below a year ago. The median price in the South was $179,300, down 3.5 percent from June 2007.