The price of previously owned homes in the US fell in October by the biggest amount in at least 40 years and the volume of sales also dropped, in a sign of the still mounting problems in the housing market.

The median price of existing homes fell by 11.3 per cent in October to $183,300 (€142,100, £121,200) compared with a year before, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday – the largest annual drop since records began in 1968.