Realtors: Home sales fall in 38 states

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
1 hour, 35 minutes ago

Sales of existing homes fell in 38 states during the summer, led by steep declines in Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California, as the once-booming housing market showed further signs of a steep slowdown.

The National Association of Realtors reported that sales dipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.27 million units nationwide, down by 12.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

The declines were the largest in once-booming areas of the country. Sales fell by 38 percent in Nevada, 36 percent in Arizona; 34.2 percent in Florida and 28.6 percent in California.

In all, nine states had sales declines in the summer of 20 percent or more compared to the third quarter of 2005.