Tighter lending standards and the loss of subprime products in the marketplace contributed to a significant drop in existing home sales in April, according to a new report from the “National Association of Realtors”:http://www.realtor.org (NAR).

NAR says total existing-home sales – including single-family, town homes, condominiums and co-ops – dropped 2.6-percent to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 5.99 million units in April, which is a significant drop when compared to the 6.15 million units recorded in March and the 6.71 million units recorded in April of 2006. “We’ve been anticipating slower home sales because many subprime loan products are no longer available,” Lawrence Yun, NAR’s Senior Economist said. “In addition, increased scrutiny by lenders is stopping risky mortgage origination, which is good for both consumers and the lending community. Fortunately, a wide availability of conventional mortgage products and the 4.5 million jobs created over the past 24 months will help to stabilize the market going forward.”