Sales of existing U.S. homes fell in October after two months of gains, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.
Sales of single-family homes, including co-ops, condominiums and townhouses, dropped 2.2% to an annual rate of 4.43 million units per year from a 4.53-million annual figure for September.
The jump in sales came in lower than the consensus forecast, which called for a 1.1% sales decrease.
NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said the industry is experiencing "an uneven recovery."
In addition, a "temporary foreclosure stoppage in some states" triggered by increased challenges in court over paperwork procedures had put a drag on the market, he said.
In October, the national median price for existing homes fell 0.9% from October 2009 to $170,500 from $171,700 a month ago.
The housing inventory at the end of the month fell 3.4% to 3.86 million homes, a 10.5-month supply at the current pace of sales, down from a 10.6-month supply at the end of September.
