The National Association of Realtors released figures showing that the existing home sales in the United States decreased by 1 percent in April, reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units and the backlog of unsold properties hit a record high.

The data released on Friday is a strong sign that the American economy's and market’s downturn still have a long way until they would start recovering from the crisis they just went through.

The rate, which includes sales of single- family homes, townhouses, condominiums and co-ops, is continuously declining since September last year.

The average price in the US for existing homes was 202.300 dollars, 8 percent lower than April 2007’s national meridian price of 219.900, the report revealed.

Despite the fact that the figures had revealed to be better than expected by analysts, the inventory of homes on the market has risen by 10.5 percent to 4.55 million during the month, which represents a 11.2 month supply at current prices, according to the report.

The changes that affected lending in the last period of time "are significant," NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun said, expressing his confidence and encouraging would-be buyers to take a second look.

"A recent notable drop in interest rates on conforming jumbo loans will help consumers in high-cost markets like California and New York," he said.