Home sales and prices still dropping across the US

This article on MSNBC looks at the stats for home sales across the USA, with the subtitle "year-over-year median sales price drops by the largest amount on record."

"Housing, which had set sales records for both new and existing homes for five consecutive years, has been rapidly loosing altitude this year, as consumers were battered by rising mortgage rates, soaring energy prices and a slowing economy.

However, economists with the Realtors said they believed the housing decline could be hitting bottom.

“The worst is behind us as far as a market correction — this is likely the trough for sales,” said David Lereah, the Realtors’ chief economist. “When consumers recognize that home sales are stabilizing, we’ll see the buyers who’ve been on the sidelines get back into the market.”

However, analysts said that the weakness in housing could last for several more months with a real upturn in sales not occurring until next spring."