Sales of existing homes fell in April, and the price posted the smallest increase in 4½ years, new signals that the nation's once red-hot housing market has cooled.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that sales of previously owned single-family homes and condominiums dropped 2% last month to a seasonally adjusted sales pace of 6.76 million units.

The median price of homes sold in April rose to $223,000, an increase of 4.2% from April 2005. That represented the smallest year-over-year price gain since September 2001. The price was up $5,000 from March.

Prices in the Midwest actually fell 1.2% in the April to April period, a fact that Lereah attributed to weak job growth and a rising inventory of unsold homes.

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