Existing-home sales plunge 27.2% - Inventory of unsold homes jumps to 11-year high

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- The sale of existing U.S. homes sank 27.2% in July -- the biggest one-month drop ever -- largely because of the phase-out of a federal tax credit, according to an industry trade group.

The National Association of Realtors said existing-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.83 million in July from 5.26 million the month before. Sales of single-family homes fell to the lowest rate in 15 years.

A year earlier, existing home sales totaled 5.14 million in July.

Inventories of unsold homes rose 2.5% to 3.98 million, representing a 12.5-month supply, the highest level since at least 1999, the trade group said. And the supply of unsold single-family homes reached its highest rate since 1982.