He said the trade group expects existing-home sales to total 3.44 million units this year, down a tenth of 1 percent from 1989.

The plunge in existing-home sales was the steepest since 1989.

The decrease in existing-home sales is the steepest since 1989.

Existing-home sales reflect the closing of transactions that were entered into a month or more before.

Existing-home sales increased 2.8 percent in June, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.23 million.

Existing-home sales for June, which were also reported yesterday, showed that the housing industry was still healthy, despite this year's rise in mortgage rates.

The market had little reaction to a report showing a sharp rise in existing-home sales in March.

Existing-home sales rallied earlier this year but have eased despite falling prices and low mortgage rates.

Existing-home sales surged 4.5 percent in April, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.18 million.

Tomorrow's June durable goods orders and existing-home sales should be market friendly because of the strong data in the prior months.