Phila. region’s existing-home sales fall 35%

Existing-home sales in the eight-county Philadelphia region plummeted 35.4 percent in July over the same month last year after four consecutive months of double-digit increases, the Prudential Fox & Roach HomExpert Report showed.

The only positive in the otherwise gloomy sales report was that median prices in the region remained stable year-over-year, at $225,000.

The month was bad all over, as national sales fell 25.5 percent from July 2009.

The National Association of Realtors said that the numbers hadn't been as low since 1999, and that single-family sales, the key component of the report, were their lowest since May 1995, during the last housing downturn.

IHS Global Insight economist Nigel Gault said the end of the federal buyer tax credit "hit with full force" in July.

Realtors' chief economist Lawrence Yun said the soft sales pace likely will continue for a few more months.

"Consumers rationally jumped into the market before the deadline for the home buyer tax credit expired," he said. "Since May, after the [April 30] deadline, contract signings have been notably lower and a pause period for home sales is likely to last through September."

Median prices nationally also showed stability, rising 0.7 percent from July 2009, to $182,600.