Jul. 25--Sales of new houses nationwide fell in June, prolonging a deep slump and other data show the St. Louis area continues to be hit hard.

New home sales information is not available for local communities and the region, but based on the number of permits issued in June, construction of new homes slumped to its lowest level in eight years.

In June, 459 permits were issued for the city of St. Louis and the nine counties reviewed by the Post-Dispatch, less than half the 978 permits issued in June 2007.

In 2000, when permitting was at its lowest in this decade -- before the housing market boom began -- 971 permits were issued in the month of June.

The data collected by Rock Hill-based Zanola Co., a division of MarketGraphics Research Group, show builders are drastically slowing down the pace of construction to match the sluggish sales pace.

Nationally, sales fell to an annual rate of 530,000 units, down 33.2 percent from a year ago.

Sales of new homes in the Midwest, however, rose by a modest 2.5 percent, according to the Commerce Department report.

The report also showed that the median price -- the price at which half the houses in the market sell above and half below -- of a new home fell 2 percent last month, compared to a year ago. Median price data for new homes in the St. Louis area is not available.

The National Association of Realtors reported Thursday that sales of existing homes -- which make up the bulk of the home sales market -- dropped by 2.6 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units, the slowest pace in a decade.

Private economists believe that sales of both new and existing homes will remain depressed for much of the rest of the year with prices continuing to fall into the spring of next year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Story Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch