WASHINGTON -- Existing-home sales, including single-family and condos, declined 7 percent, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.69 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. 28 states and the District of Columbia experienced declines.

Regionally, the South reported an existing-home sales pace of 2.60 million units in the second quarter, down 4.2 percent from a year ago. After Arkansas and Texas, the next strongest increase in the South was in North Carolina, up 11.0 percent from the second quarter of 2005, while resales in South Carolina rose 9.0 percent; six other Southern states also posted sales gains.

In the Midwest, existing-home sales declined 4.7 percent to a 1.54 million-unit annual sales level from the second quarter of 2005. The strongest increase in the region was in Indiana, up 4.8 percent from a year earlier, followed by Iowa, up 3.8 percent, and Missouri, with an increase of 0.8 percent.

The Northeast saw an existing-home sales pace of 1.15 million units in the second quarter, which was 5.2 percent below a year earlier. Sales activity in Vermont rose 9.1 percent from the second quarter of 2005, while Maine increased 1.5 percent.

In the West, the existing-home sales level of 1.41 million units was 14.7 percent lower than the second quarter of 2005. After Alaska, the best performance the region was in New Mexico where existing-home sales rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier; Wyoming sales increased 5.7 percent while Montana rose 5.2 percent.

Source: http://www.buildingonline.com/news/viewnews.pl?id=5357&subcategory=140