Total existing home sales ?EUR??,,????'??? including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops ?EUR??,,????'??? dropped 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.33 million units in July from a downwardly revised pace of 6.60 million June, and were 11.2 percent below the 7.13 million-unit level in July 2005.

?EUR??,,????'??Many potential home buyers have been on the sidelines, some ?EUR??,,????'??kicking the tires,?EUR??,,????'??? but mostly waiting for sellers to compromise on prices and terms,?EUR??,,????'?? David Lereah, NAR?EUR??,,????'???s chief economist, said.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $230,000 in July, up 0.9 percent from July 2005 when the median was $228,000. The median is a typical market price where half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Total housing inventory levels rose 3.2 percent at the end of July to 3.86 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 7.3-month supply at the current sales pace.

Single-family home sales dropped 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.51 million in July from 5.80 million in June, and were 11.4 percent below the 6.22 million-unit pace in July 2005. The median existing single-family home price was $231,200 in July, up 1.5 percent from a year earlier.

Existing condominium and cooperative housing sales rose 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 818,000 units in July from 796,000 in June, but were 10.5 percent below the 914,000-unit pace in July 2005. The median existing condo price3 was $225,600 in July, down 1.0 percent from a year ago.

Regionally, existing home sales in the South slipped 1.2 percent to a pace of 2.53 million in July, and were 7.0 percent below July 2005. The median existing home price in the South was $192,000, up 3.2 percent from a year earlier.

Existing home sales in the Northeast dropped 5.4 percent to an annual sales rate of 1.05 million units in July, and were 12.5 percent below a year ago. The median price in the Northeast was $276,000, down 2.1 percent from July 2005.

Existing home sales in the Midwest fell 5.9 percent in July to a level of 1.43 million, and were 10.1 percent lower than July 2005. The median price in the Midwest was $178,000, which is 0.6 percent below a year ago.