National Reports Just Out-

Home sales fall to lowest level since 1999

Median price down nearly 5 percent from a year ago, Realtors report

• Most viewed • Top rated • Most e-mailed

Clinton, Obama sharpen their attacks Valerie Bertinelli comes clean on drugs, infidelity Meet the losers of the Joy Fit Club Gene discovery may lead to new baldness drugs What if women ruled the world? Most viewed on msnbc.com

Insurer fined $9M for dropping cancer patient Woman charged in fatal Minn. school bus crash Finally closure in Exxon oil spill case? Private race to the moon (and money) takes off Feds to hike fines for hiring illegal immigrants Most viewed on msnbc.com

Gene discovery may lead to new baldness drugs What if women ruled the world?   Survey: U.S. religious landscape in flux Home sales fall to lowest level since 1999 Do you want fries with that zen? Most viewed on msnbc.com

WASHINGTON - Sales of existing homes fell to the lowest level in nearly a decade in January while the median price for a home dropped for the fifth straight month.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 0.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units, the slowest sales pace on records going back to 1999.

The median price of a home sold in January slid to $201,100, a drop of 4.6 percent from a year ago.