The pace of sales of existing homes in the US slowed by 8.6% last month, as buyers retreated from the market in spite of falling prices.

Home resales fell to an annual rate of 4.49m in November, down 10.6% year-on-year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) said yesterday. The median price of an existing home plummeted 13.2% year-on-year to $181,000 (£123,000), the sharpest decline since record-keeping began in 1968.

'The quickly deteriorating conditions in the job market, stock market and consumer confidence in October and November have knocked down home sales to another level,' said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist.

Financial Times