Median sales prices of existing homes declined in 123 out of 153 metropolitan areas compared with the same period a year ago. Prices rose in the other 30 cities.

The housing market in Virginia, including the Richmond area, has steadily improved this year and prices are stabilizing in some areas—but not yet here, the Virginia Association of Realtors reported yesterday. Sales rose in 14 of 26 areas in Virginia in the third quarter from the same period a year ago, the report said. But prices fell in 17 regions, including the Richmond area, where prices dropped nearly 12 percent from a year ago.

Richmond-area home sales in the third quarter rose slightly from the same period a year ago, but the median price droped 11.7 percent to $202,322, according to a new report.

A reminder that the path to an economic recovery will be slow and bumpy emerged yesterday from weaker-than-expected data on durable-goods orders and new-home sales. The reports “are a wake-up call for anyone expecting a smooth transition to a strong economic recovery,“ said Paul Ashworth, senior economist for Capital Economics. The durable-goods figure caused some economists to lower their forecasts for third-quarter economic growth.

Home resales dipped unexpectedly last month, falling 2.7 percent from a month earlier, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. That reversed steady monthly gains since April, but most economists called the drop temporary and said they expected sales to strengthen this fall. “It doesn’t change the underlying trend of improvement,“ said Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital.

Home resales in July posted the largest monthly increase in at least 10 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of a tax credit that expires Nov. 30. Sales jumped 7.2 percent nationally and beat expectations, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. “It is encouraging news,“ said Laura Lafayette, the chief executive officer of the Richmond Association of Realtors.

For Aaron Carter, a musician who was struggling to fit a drum set, a piano and three guitars into his 600-square-foot apartment in Phoenix, the math on owning a home finally began to work in his favor. Rent for the apartment he shared with his wife: $615. Mortgage payment for a home with twice the space: $760. And the interest on a mortgage is tax-deductible. So they jumped at the chance to buy some elbow room.

National, state and Richmond-area home sale figures released yesterday show a real estate market still down compared with last year, but doing better than earlier this year. Median prices, with half the houses selling for more and half for less, fell as well. In the Richmond area, home prices dropped 12.6 percent to $206,904 in the second quarter from the year-earlier period, according to the Virginia Association of Realtors. Statewide, they fell 8.6 percent to $245,885 in the second quarter.

Selling a high-priced home in the Richmond area has never been easy, but it’s become harder and taking longer. The number of buyers who can purchase homes for $750,000 or more has always been small, said Laura Lafayette, chief executive officer of the Richmond Association of Realtors. “In the past year, that select group of buyers has become even smaller. If you’re a seller in this price range, the watch words must be ‘extraordinary patience.‘“

Sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from April to May, the third monthly increase this year, but signs of a housing recovery are fragile at best. The National Association of Realtors said yesterday that existing-home sales rose 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.77 million, up from a downwardly revised rate of 4.66 million in April. But the result missed analysts’ expectations.

The number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to buy a previously occupied home took the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years in April, but there are still plenty of danger signs for the U.S. housing market.

Buyers who were brave enough to dive into the market for a bargain-priced house helped provide a modest boost to sales last month. Sales of inexpensive foreclosures and other distressed low-end properties have sparked bidding wars in places like Las Vegas, Phoenix and Miami. But the market for high-end properties is at a virtual standstill, mainly because it remains difficult to get a mortgage for expensive homes.

One month does not a recovery make. But a surprising leap in existing-home sales in February was a welcome if tentative sign of hope that the real estate market may be stabilizing. While sales of existing homes remain at lows not seen in more than a decade, economists were encouraged by the news, saying it reflected buyers who were taking advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures and other distressed properties. That’s essential if home prices are to find their long-awaited bottom.

The number of homebuyers who agreed to purchase an existing home sank to a new low in January as economic woes turned them away from the staggering housing market, the National Association of Realtors said yesterday. The group’s seasonally adjusted index of pending sales contracts fell 7.7 percent to 80.4 in January from a December reading of 87.1.

Fewer homes were sold in the Richmond area last year than any year in the past decade, according to a report released yesterday by the Virginia Association of Realtors. In all, 9,287 houses were sold in this area, lower than the 9,526 for all of 1998. Sales here tumbled 22.8 percent in 2008 from the previous year, according to the housing report.