Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell in June to the lowest level in a decade as tumbling real estate prices and consumer confidence signaled no end in sight to a housing recession now in its third year, Bloomberg News reports.

Resales dropped 2.6 percent to a lower-than-forecast 4.86 million annual rate from a 4.99 million pace the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median home price dropped 6.1 percent from June 2007.

The housing slump may deepen further after mortgage rates climbed to the highest in a year this month and turmoil engulfed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which account for more than two- thirds of new home-loan financing. A record 18.6 million houses, apartments and condominiums stood empty in the last three months as the industry’s recession reverberated through communities, separate figures showed today.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks tumbled today sending financial shares to their worst drop in eight years. The S&P500 Index dropped the most since June 26, losing 29.65 points, or 2.3 percent, to 1,252.54. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 283.1, or 2.4 percent, to 11,349.28. The Nasdaq Composite Index tumbled 45.77, or 2 percent, to 2,280.11.

(Bloomberg.com)