Sales of existing homes fell short of expectations in November, hitting the slowest sales pace in 19 months after new mortgage rules hit the market, realtors said.

Existing home sales fell 10.5 percent to 4.76 million homes in November, the National Association of Realtors said Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected to see existing home sales in November hit 5.35 million units, about the same as the 5.36 million the previous month.

The sales represent a 3.8 percent year-on-year decline for the indicator, a barometer of the American real estate market.

The Midwest led declining sales, seeing a 16.4 percent drop in sales of existing homes, followed by the West at 13.9 percent and the Northeast at 9.2 percent.

The median home prices was $220,300, up 6.3 percent from this time last year. Inventories are currently at 5.1 month supply of homes, tighter that the 6 months considered balanced.

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