Home sales decline in 1st Quarter

Sales of existing homes in the United States continued to decline in the first quarter, but the rate of decline slowed, and fewer states reported sales drops, the major real estate trade group said on Tuesday.

Across the nation, the pace of home sales was down 6.6 percent in January-March from the first quarter of 2006, the National Association of Realtors said. In the previous quarter, sales were down 10.1 percent from a year ago.

The national median existing single-family home price was $212,300 in the first quarter, down 1.8 percent from the $216,100 a year ago, the report said. In the fourth quarter of 2006, the median price fell 2.7 percent.

The real estate group said home prices in most areas showed that conditions are favoring buyers.

The sales pace slid in 33 states in the first quarter, compared with 40 in the prior three months, and cities with a price gain outnumbered those with a decline.

That leveling off and an increase in the number of cities that saw price gains were seen as overall positive.

"The last year-over-year figures were about as bad as they could be" and were bound to improve this quarter, said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, North Carolina.