Existing-home sales fell to a seasonally-adjusted rate of 4.91 million units in the second quarter, down 0.8 percent from the first quarter and 16.3 percent from the same period a year earlier, NAR said today.
The group noted that short sales and foreclosures accounted for about a third of all home sales, putting increased downward pressure on home prices nationwide.
That caused the median existing single-family home price to fall 7.6 percent year-over-year to $206,500 from $223,500.
NAR said 115 of the 150 metropolitan statistical areas it covers experienced annual price declines, with areas of California hardest hit.
The worst declines were seen in the Sacramento, CA area, where the median price fell 35.6 percent from a year ago to $229,500, followed by a 32.7 percent drop in the San Bernardino-Ontario, CA area and a 33.1 percent in the Cape Coral-Fort Meyers, FL area.
Price declines in excess of 20 percent were also seen in areas such as Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix, and Las Vegas.
“The biggest home-sales gains over the previous quarter have been in some of the markets with the steepest and fastest price drops,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist.
“Compared with the first quarter, existing-home sales increased 25.8 percent in California, 25.0 percent in Nevada, 20.5 percent in Arizona and 10.1 percent in Florida. Buyers in these areas are responding to deeply discounted home prices.”
The largest single-family home price increases were seen in Yakima, WA (8.9 percent), Binghamton, NY (8.7 percent), and Amarillo, TX (7.2 percent).
The West region experienced the worst annual home price decline, down 17.4 percent, while the Midwest fared the best, falling just 0.9 percent year-over-year.
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