The American median existing-home price for all housing types was $208,600 in May, down 6.3 percent from a year ago when the median was $222,700.
Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said there’s still a lot of inventory in the market. “The large supply of homes on the market clearly favours buyers, and it should take several months to draw the inventory down,” he said. “Stabilisation in home prices can only occur with buyers returning to the market, so we are encouraged by rising home sales, particularly in distressed markets. Foreclosures and short sales appear to be a larger part of the market, particularly in California, and are creating a drag on current home prices.”

The American average existing house price for all housing types was $202,300 in April, which is 8.0 percent below a year ago when the median was $219,900. Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 10.5 percent to 4.55 million existing houses available for sale, which represents an 11.2 month supply at the current sales pace, up from a 10.0 month supply in March.

The American median existing-home price for all housing types was $200,700 in March, down 7.7 percent from a year ago when the median was $217,400.

The number of houses sold in America fell in December after several months of stable activity. Despite the fall, the total number of homes sold in 2007 was the fifth highest on record.

House sales rose slightly in November, with industry insiders expressing hopes that America’s property markets are stabilizing in the wake of the year’s subprime mortgage problems.

Pending home sales will be subdued in the short-term as subprime mortgage problems continue to worry home buyers. August’s Pending Home Sales Index fell 6.5 percent to a reading of 85.5, down from 91.4 in July and 21.5 percent below the August 2006 index of 108.9.

The price of a home in Florida rose 84 percent during the housing boom, but wages have not kept pace. As a result, Florida workers in key occupations can no longer afford to buy the sort of house they would once have expected to.

Florida’s Legislature has approved the largest property tax cuts in state history following hurricane damage in recent years. The property tax relief and reform package will cut property taxes in Florida by almost $32 billion dollars over the next five years.

The American housing market remained in the doldrums last month with house sales at their lowest number for four years. Sales fell 0.3 percent to an annualized 5.99 million units in May, the lowest figure since June 2003. There was also bad news from Lennar, America’s biggest house builder, which announced a $244.2 million loss for the second quarter of 2007. Lennar’s average sales price fell by 7.5 per cent to $298,000.