U.S. existing home sales fell 2.2 pct in December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pace of existing home sales in the United States fell by 2.2 percent in December to a slower-than-expected 4.89 million-unit annual rate, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Thursday.

The inventory of homes for sale fell 7.4 percent to 3.91 million units at the end of last month. That represents a 9.6-month supply at the current sales pace, down from the 10.1-month supply in November.

While the inventory decreased, NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun cautioned that sales will likely remain slow through the first quarter of this year and possibly into the next as troubles from the subprime mortgage and credit crisis work their way through the economy.

Prices on U.S. government bonds trimmed earlier gains and U.S. stock markets pushed higher.

"Home prices are lower, mortgage interest rates continue to decline and incomes are higher, but many potential buyers are delaying a purchase," Yun said.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to slip to a 4.95 million unit pace after hitting a 5.00 million pace in November.

Yun noted that for homebuyers, conditions have improved, with prices falling and mortgage rates at low levels. Troubles on Wall Street may continue for some time, he predicted.

"Wall Street made a big gamble," Yun said. "I think there will be further write-downs going forward."

For all of 2007, existing home sales fell 12.8 percent and the national median home price fell by 1.4 percent to $218,900. It was the first annual decline in the median home price since 1999, when the realtor group began tracking both condos and single-family home data together.

For the year, single-family sales, which account for 80 to 90 percent of all existing home sales, fell 13 percent. It was the biggest decrease since a 17.7 percent decrease in 1982.

(Reporting By Joanne Morrison and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Andrea Ricci)