New figures are out on existing home sales and the news is not encouraging. Sales fell 3.1% in October.

A National Association of Realtors reports that a little less than 5 million homes were sold for the month. That’s compared to more than 5 million in the month of September. That drop is more than expected.

The Realtors Association of Northwest Wisconsin says there were 164 closings on homes in Eau Claire, Chippewa and Dunn Counties last month. That’s 14 more than in October of 2007.

The median sales price in the Chippewa Valley is down about $6,000 to a little less than $143,000.