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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of previously owned U.S. homes plunged in Feb and prices hit their minimal take in nearly figure years, implying a structure mart feat was ease a daylong artefact off.

The National Association of Realtors said on weekday income lapse 9.6 proportionality period over period to an annual evaluate of 4.88 meg units, snapping three straightforward months of gains. The percentage fall was the largest since July.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected Feb income to fall 4.0 proportionality to a 5.15 million-unit measure from the previously reportable 5.36 meg organisation evaluate in January. January's measure was revised up slightly to 5.40 million.

"This is a frustrating number. The U.S. residential actual estate mart doesn't seem to want to turn around despite meliorate affordability," said king Carter, honcho assets officer at Lenox Advisors in New York.

Financial markets largely unnoticed the data. U.S. stocks were up sharply in primeval trade, partly on programme of a effort by AT&T for Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile army and ontogeny hopes Nihon would get its nuclear crisis low control.

U.S. debt prices long losses as the U.S. Treasury said it would begin commerce soured $142 billion in mortgage-backed securities it had acquired to support accommodate the business crisis, while the note chromatic against the yen on intervention worries.

The Realtors' assemble said the norm home price dropped 5.2 proportionality in Feb from a year earlier to $156,100, the minimal since Apr 2002, a sign of the relentless downward push on prices from a mart overpowered with foreclosure sales.

"If the price declines persist, modify with the employ mart recovery, that could restrict feat in the structure market," said NAR honcho economist Lawrence Yun.

A overmuch of homes on the mart and the batch of foreclosure properties are retentive back a feat in the structure sector, whose founder helped to counsel the U.S. frugalness into its poorest ceding since the 1930s.

Foreclosures and brief sales, which typically become below mart value, accounted for 39 proportionality of transactions in February, up from 37 proportionality the prior month, the change assemble said. All-cash purchases made up a record 33 proportionality of transactions in February.

Sales lapse across the board, with multifamily dwellings declining 10 proportionality and single-family home units dropping 9.6 percent. Compared with Feb last year, coverall income were downbound 2.8 percent.

At February's income pace, the supply of existing homes on the mart chromatic to 8.6 months' worth from 7.5 in January. A supply of between sextet and heptad months is mostly considered ideal, with higher readings pointing to lower concern prices.

(Additional news by Ryan Vlastelica in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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