Sales of previously owned homes dip in October

Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sales of previously owned homes dipped slightly in October but still clocked in at fourth-highest pace on record, a fresh sign that the housing market is in solid shape.

The National Association of Realtors reported today that sales, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate, totaled 6.75 million units in October, representing a tiny 0.1 percent decline from the previous month.

By region, sales fell in all parts of the country except for the South, where they rose by 3.7 percent in October from September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.77 million.

In the Northeast, sales dropped by 1.3 percent to a rate of 750,000. In the Midwest, sales clocked in at a rate of 1.37 million, a 2.8 percent decline from September. Sales in the West fell by 3.6 percent to a rate of 1.86 million.

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